Hermione Granger: Guardian of the Galaxy
by Lil Drop Of Magic
Summary: When Hermione finds herself on the other side of the galaxy without any hope of returning home, she must fight harder than ever to keep herself alive. Part 4 in series.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing affiliated with the Harry Potter world or Marvel Cinematic Universe.

A/N Hi guys! So here we are with Part 4. If you are unaware that this is the fourth part in a series, you might want to click on my bio page to find Part 1 (Hermione Granger: Agent of SHIELD). I would also highly recommend that you watch Guardians of the Galaxy before reading this fic because otherwise you will find it rather confusing.

A quick thank you to all my concerned readers who kept nudging me when they were worried that I wasn't going to update. Your fears can be allayed (for now!).

* * *

"How I _loathe_ our family reunions," Nebula spat, scowling around at the dark, barren wasteland as she expertly landed the small ship on Sanctuary.

Gamora nodded in agreement, though her sister couldn't see her. "At least they're not a common occurrence," she pointed out. Gamora was glad to say that it had been many months since she'd last had to endure the presence of Thanos – the cruel warlord who presumed to call himself her father. In truth, Nebula was not her sister either and, more often than not, they could hardly stand the other's presence, but the deeply buried shred of compassion that Thanos had been unable to beat out of Gamora still held affection for the Luphomoid girl who had grown up alongside her.

"But I doubt we shall like whatever he's going to say," Nebula muttered, powering down the vehicle and unlocking the doors.

This, unfortunately, was true. Thanos could never be called a man of sentiment and it was highly unlikely that he should wish to see his adopted daughters to enquire after their welfare and discuss how they were enjoying working with Ronan the Accuser (a somewhat merciless and dogmatic member of the Kree race). No, there was something that Thanos wished to say to them in person and, from Gamora's experience, it wouldn't make for pleasant hearing.

The Other, Thanos's closest attendant, was waiting for them as they disembarked.

"My lady Gamora, my lady Nebula," he greeted, his voice sickeningly subservient as he bowed low. "My lord Thanos, awaits your presence." He beckoned to them and they duly followed his cloaked, shuffling figure across the rocky landscape.

Being back on Thanos' domain brought many unpleasant memories of pain, loss and despair to the surface of Gamora's mind but she kept them firmly in place as she maintained her emotionless façade.

Approaching Thanos' levitating throne, Gamora easily spotted the slight figure standing motionless at his feet. It was a young female, possibly Xandarian, of similar age to herself and Nebula, attired in leather clothes like they both wore. Her long brown hair fell in soft waves down her back and her skin appeared milk-white in Sanctuary's gloom. She had appealing, delicate features that were offset by the cold expression she was wearing as she stared unwaveringly straight ahead of her.

"Your daughters, my lord," the Other announced, needlessly gesturing to Nebula and Gamora as they stood in front of Thanos, heads bowed slightly in acknowledgement.

"Father," they each greeted lowly.

"Gamora, Nebula," his deep voice rumbled, "Allow me to introduce your new sister, Hermione."

Unsurprised that Thanos should waste no time in getting straight to the point, Gamora appraised the girl further. She was in good physical condition, that was easy to see, but that deadened gaze spoke of the damage Thanos had undoubtedly wrought within.

"Another sister, what a nice surprise," Nebula said with more than a hint of sarcasm, her completely black eyes narrowed at the latest addition to their so-called family. "And I didn't even know you were expecting!"

Gamora eyed Nebula warily, hoping that she would keep her temper in check; surely she didn't need reminding how mercilessly Thanos could act when aggravated?

"Hermione has been my daughter for some time," Thanos replied, his tone clearly indicating that he was not in the mood for Nebula's cynicism. "You are only now meeting each other because I wanted her to be ready first."

Gamora felt a sting of sympathy for her new 'sister' as she recalled the numerous ways Thanos had tortured, manipulated and experimented on _her_ to get her 'ready' for purpose. She wondered whether it had actually been easier for her to be adapted and moulded whilst a child into what Thanos wanted, rather than an adult like Hermione; someone who assumedly already had a life on her planet, had formed her own beliefs and ideas, and had now had everything she knew about herself ground down into tiny fragments and tossed amongst the stars.

"And are you ready now, sister?" Nebula questioned, taking a couple of confident steps towards Hermione to get a closer look.

Hermione's gaze shifted for the first time as she eyed Nebula indifferently and, when she replied, there was a definite hint of a challenge in her tone: "You'll soon see for yourself, _sister_." The scorn in the last word showed that the lack of sibling affection was apparently mutual.

A cruel smile spread over Nebula's features. "I'm looking forward to it," she claimed with false sweetness.

Gamora glanced at Thanos to gauge his feelings on the interaction and was somewhat uneasy to find that he looked amused at the animosity they were showing each other. Yes, they certainly weren't a typical family.

"Gamora," Thaos called, "what do you make of your new sister?"

"Not a lot," she answered, watching Hermione closely. "You always told us to be wary of first impressions for they are often misleading, though now, of course, we use that to our advantage." It was amazing how many men could be lured by the sight of a supposedly helpless or wanton woman.

Thanos smiled widely, showing his large flat teeth. "Yes, that would certainly be wise in this case."

Gamora knew that he was deeply enjoying parading Hermione in front of them so mysteriously. She was curious about Hermione's origins but knew better than to ask so openly because Thanos did not like them talking about their lives before he had adopted them.

"I did not just summon you both here to simply introduce you to your new sister," Thanos continued. "Hermione now requires a more serious challenge of her skills. Nebula, you wished to see what she is capable of so, go ahead, do your worst."

The fact that Hermione was unarmed didn't appear to bother Nebula in the slightest and she didn't waste time to enquire whether Thanos was serious in his suggestion before she unsheathed her twin electroshock blades and leapt forwards to close the remaining few feet between them.

Gamora didn't quite see what happened next but there was a bright flash of light and Nebula was propelled backwards, landing unstably back where she'd began. Nebula frowned at Hermione, who gazed back unaffected. Gamora could see she was still unarmed for her palms were raised, almost in self-defence.

Nebula approached her more cautiously; her blades upwards in preparation, but Hermione didn't react at all. When the distance between them was less than three feet, Nebula thrust the blades forwards, aiming at her neck and stomach. A protective shield, formed of energy, prevented the weapons from touching Hermione and they simply bounced off. Nebula snarled and forcefully jabbed the electroshock blades against the barrier in an attempt to break it. Suddenly, the shield disappeared and Nebula stumbled forwards. She quickly struck out with the blades but Hermione was nowhere to be seen.

Gamora openly gaped at the spot from which Hermione had vanished. She must be in possession of some impressive technology to be able to disguise herself so completely because both Gamora and Nebula had been equipped with implants to enhance their visual system, as well as many other additions.

Nebula let out a growl of surprise as the electroshock blades were wrenched from her grasp and hovered menacingly above her head, but she was in no position to regain possession of them as her body jerked and stumbled like she was being physically attacked. Her knees buckled and she fell forwards, her arms and legs pinned unnaturally behind her.

Hermione abruptly rematerialized in front of them and, with a flick of her hand, Nebula was forced onto her back, her limbs still seemingly restrained. The blades dived down to their owner and stopped a hair's breadth from her skin.

Hermione looked down at Nebula, who was glaring at her with purest loathing, and smiled sweetly. "Seen enough, sister?"

"Release me, you – " Nebula snarled but, when Hermione jabbed a finger in her direction, she was suddenly cut off. Nebula's mouth moved with fury, no doubt spewing vitriolic comments that it was best they couldn't hear.

Unconcerned, Hermione turned away from Nebula and appraised Gamora.

"I hear they call you the deadliest woman in the galaxy," Hermione said lightly.

"I doubt that will be true for much longer," she replied, shocked at what the young woman was capable of.

"You do not wish to pit yourself against Hermione?" Thanos asked.

"What would be the wisdom in that?" Gamora countered. "There is nothing wrong in admitting there are some battles you cannot win."

"Some would call that cowardice," Thanos pointed out harshly.

"I prefer the term, _self-preservation_ ," she replied coolly and he chuckled.

"You have always been quick-witted," he murmured almost proudly, before looking down at Nebula with an expression of disappointment. "Release Nebula, Hermione, though you will have to watch your back; she is not known for her forgiving nature."

Hermione did as commanded and Nebula's limbs went limp. She had to carefully extricate herself away from the blades as Hermione had kept them resolutely in place.

"But be warned, daughter," Thanos continued, pinning Nebula with a stern expression, "I will be angered by any serious retribution you choose to dish out. You asked to see what Hermione was capable of and now you have been able to appreciate but a _glimpse_ of her potential. With Hermione now a part of our family, we are unstoppable."

Hermione turned to Thanos and inclined her head. "I only wish to please you, father," she said earnestly.

"As do we all," Gamora added, similarly bowing her head.

Nebula pulled herself to her feet. "I am yours to command," she said with only the smallest trace of her anger at Hermione still noticeable.

In truth, Gamora was greatly disturbed by this addition to their family.

Gamora wasn't fooling herself; she knew she wasn't a good person. She'd committed a vast number of crimes and had long since lost count of the people she had killed. While she couldn't exactly say that those people had deserved to die, none of them had been good people either, which was unfortunately very common in this melting pot of a galaxy. She was a warrior and an assassin, but she had a moral line that she wouldn't cross. The same wasn't true of Thanos. She'd known that from the beginning when he'd killed her parents in front of her along with the rest of her race. He had _no_ qualms about committing genocide and other atrocities to achieve his goals. For most of her life, Gamora had simply accepted this; what choice did she have? Thanos had always been power-hungry and was never satisfied with his lot, but recently it felt like the atmosphere was shifting – not just in Thanos' dominion, but across the galaxy; war was coming.

In the last few days, Gamora had discovered that Thanos had agreed to destroy the planet Xandar for Ronan should the Kree warrior bring him a mysterious and long lost Orb. The possibility that so many innocent lives would be lost due to the ambitions of two sadistic rulers made Gamora sick to her core and, for the first time since her childhood, she had secretly vowed to fight back. If she could prevent Ronan from passing the Orb onto Thanos then she might save the Xandarians from their awful fate.

Hermione, though, was a problem.

Gamora just didn't know how much of a problem she was, especially as she didn't know what Hermione was truly capable of yet. What she'd seen so far was troubling enough but she sensed there was much more to come.

The galaxy would be a far deadlier place should Thanos gain greater power and if Hermione was truly devoted to him, she could play a significant part in making that happen. But that was a big if.

He may or may not be aware of it, but both Nebula and Gamora deeply resented Thanos and would not be upset if he happened to meet his end. Should Hermione's loyalty, like theirs, be nothing but an act, Gamora might be able to turn Hermione into a very valuable ally. The difficulty would be getting her to _admit_ she wasn't Thanos' dedicated daughter. Having grown up together, she and Nebula knew of each other's hatred of Thanos but they made sure _no one else_ knew because it was far too dangerous to bad mouth him when there were so many snooping ears who would happily report back to him. Hermione, on the other hand, had had no one to confide in and she was unlikely to trust Gamora any time soon.

Gamora raised her eyes back to Thanos; he was smiling cruelly down on his daughters, no doubt envisioning how they were going to help him spread his influence throughout the galaxy.

"If you want Hermione to be tested further, do you wish her to join us under the command of Ronan?" Gamora asked. "It appears there is little else she can learn here on Sanctuary – it's quite different applying those skills in real life."

So far, Ronan and his forces had been unable to locate the Orb but Gamora was aware that it could be discovered at any time, thereby spelling the end of Xandar. Having Hermione close by would give Gamora more opportunities to sound the mysterious woman out and potentially discover any weaknesses she may have.

"Ronan has already agreed to such a proposal," Thanos replied, "though I expect both of _you_ to further Hermione's education as well; make sure she realises what it means to be a part of our family." He turned his gaze to his newest child. "You have progressed far, my daughter, but there is still much for you to learn and a galaxy for you to experience. I am placing you in worthy hands; Ronan is loyal to me and, in serving him, you will be serving me also."

"I won't let you down, father," Hermione vowed.

In no time at all, the three women were taking off from Sanctuary, headed back to Ronan's flagship, the _Dark Aster_.

There were many questions that Gamora wished to ask Hermione, but, with Nebula so close by, they would have to wait for a more suitable time. Gamora sensed that Nebula wasn't as averse to Thanos and Ronan's schemes as she was and, though she cared for her sister, Gamora wouldn't dream of broaching the subject of betraying Ronan and their father to Nebula. She strongly suspected that the Luphomoid would sell her out without much remorse.

Gamora glanced over at Hermione, who was gazing intently at the rapidly decreasing Sanctuary. A metallic groan echoed loudly in the small space, making Nebula and Gamora look around in confusion. Hermione knelt down and Gamora noticed the large crack that had appeared in the flooring by Hermione's feet. Shocked, she watched as Hermione ran her fingers over the fissure and the metal melded back together again. A few seconds later, it was as though there had been no break there at all. Hermione stood calmly and raised a challenging eyebrow when she became aware of her sisters' stares.

Nebula glowered at her but eventually turned back to the ships' controls, her jaw clenched with intense dislike.

Gamora sat in contemplative silence. She had long heard of the existence of sorcery in the galaxy but had yet to encounter any herself. But what other explanation could there be for all the different things Hermione could do?

Having her on board the Dark Aster would certainly make things interesting…

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A/N So, I'm guessing that you may have a few questions. In the coming chapters we will dip back to find out what happened between now and the end of 'Sorceress' but if you have your own ideas then feel free to hit me with them.

Until next time!

Lil Drop of Magic


	2. Chapter 2

A/N Hi guys! Thanks for your support :)

* * *

 _Hermione smiled at Steve's kiss to her temple as he joined her in the kitchen._

" _Hey," he greeted softly, pulling down a glass from the cupboard, "Did you have a good day?"_

 _She hummed in the affirmative. "It was fine."_

 _Steve paused with his hand on the door of the fridge and looked back at her with a frown. "What's wrong?" he asked in concern._

" _Wrong?" she repeated faintly. "What do you mean? Why does anything have to be wrong?"_

 _He shrugged. "Well, for one thing, I don't think you've ever described your day in just one word before," he answered, "and you've definitely never used the word 'fine'. Plus, you're drinking chamomile tea," he added, pointing to the beverage she had her fingers curled around. "You only drink chamomile when you're upset about something or…" he tailed off, looking uncomfortable, and mumbled, "but that's still two weeks away."_

 _Hermione sighed, both touched and slightly exasperated that he knew her so well. "I had to fill in a self-evaluation form at work," she admitted with a shrug._

" _Oh," he replied simply, his frown deepening, "I see."_

" _Do you?" she enquired doubtfully._

" _Of course; if you're given a task, you always do it to the best of your ability – something I hope you wrote down, by the way. So, now you're questioning every part of yourself and, because you hold yourself to impeccably high standards, you believe that you're lacking or failing in some respect."_

 _Hermione stared at him._

" _I'm right, aren't I?" he prompted gently._

 _She averted her gaze and looked down at her tea. "You think I'm being stupid," she accused._

" _When did I say that?" Steve challenged calmly._

" _You didn't have to," she mumbled._

" _I_ don't _think you're being stupid," he clarified, "but I suspect you're judging yourself too harshly." He closed the distance between them and reached for her hand, before kissing it and holding it against his heart. "Why don't you tell me what you think your weaknesses are and I can give you a second opinion?"_

 _Hermione trembled slightly. If she couldn't open up to Steve about her doubts and fears then there was no one else in the world she could turn to because there wasn't a single person she trusted more._

" _Do you think I'm weak for not killing anybody?" she asked, locking her gaze onto his._

 _Steve's eyes widened. "_ That's _what's upsetting you?!" he asked in surprise._

" _I-I know I'm lucky because my magic means that I don't have to," she said, her words coming out in a rush. "And I know that I sort of did when the Chitauri were invading New York but they were aliens and you said they were more like machines so I could justify it in my head. Then when I was fighting the Extremis soldiers in Miami, I had to use really forceful spells because the virus meant their bodies could repair the damage I caused, but I never looked close enough to see whether I'd actually killed anyone. I don't think I could cross that line and do something that I know will certainly result in another person's death and, and I think that makes me weak!"_

 _Her eyes looked up at him defiantly, daring him to contradict her. "I take back what I said earlier," he muttered, "You_ are _being stupid." She glared at him and tried to take back the hand that was still resting on his chest but he held it firm. "Do you have any idea how_ glad _I am that you've never been put in that position? That you've never had to feel the heart-stopping guilt that comes with ending another person's life? I take_ no _strength from the deaths that I've caused; I take it from the lives I know I've saved. You're right; you're lucky that your magic means you don't have to make the choice between life and death. I hope that never changes and so should you."_

" _I_ do _hope that," she argued vehemently, her voice shaking. "But it doesn't stop me worrying about it."_

 _Steve nodded. "We all have worries," he said gently, "some more rational than others. But I can honestly tell you that, even in our profession, showing a reluctance to kill is not a sign of weakness at all. It only goes to show what I already know to be true."_

 _She looked at him quizzically. "What?"_

" _That you have the biggest heart I've ever come across," he replied, taking her hand from his chest and replacing it over her own heart, which fluttered pleasantly. "And no matter what happens in the future," he brushed her hand aside and kissed over her heart tenderly, the heat from his mouth making her gasp even through her blouse, "you always will do."_

The Krylorian man's neck snapped and he fell to the floor, quite clearly dead. Hermione moved her fingers away from where she'd had them pointed at her victim, to the spot on her chest where Steve had kissed her all those months ago. The skin above her heart burned again but this time it was with pain, not the pleasure he'd induced, just like it always did whenever she killed someone. She tried to tell herself that she'd forgotten how many times she'd experienced that pain, that she was indifferent now to the deaths she'd caused, but each one was burned into her memory and an additional mental tally would be scrawled across her heart. Involuntarily, she would picture her soul breaking into another small piece and she'd wonder if she had overtaken Voldemort's kill count yet.

She tried not to consider what Steve would think of her now because it would do her no good; Steve was dead – as was everyone else she'd ever known on Earth. It was the first thing she'd been told when she'd been fitted with a translator implant on her arrival to Thanos' domain. She had been unconscious during the journey so she had no idea how long it had taken to travel across the galaxy. The Other had delighted in telling her that her planet had been destroyed and, therefore, plotting an escape was a futile endeavour. She hadn't believed him, of course, because she couldn't comprehend the idea of all she'd ever known no longer existing. And so, she'd spent the first few weeks devising various plots to break away from the nightmare she'd found herself in. The problem was, despite her magical abilities, she had no means of escaping because she didn't even know where in the universe she was! And, supposing she did manage to get herself onto a space craft, she didn't know how to operate it. In this dire situation, she _would_ be prepared to cast the Imperius Curse on someone to force them to take her back to Earth but she hadn't even had a glimpse of her wand since waking on the strange, alien land. Not to mention that her hopes were all relying on there being somewhere for her to escape _to_.

Time was difficult to judge on Sanctury (It was a few weeks before she'd discovered that was the name of the place she was – not that it had done her any good.) because there was no sun to show the marking of a new day. Much of her initial time there had been spent enclosed in various dark, rocky caverns. She had come to loathe the dark. There was so much of it out here and, though it may be punctuated with stars, planets or nebulas, it seemed to stretch on for eternity.

In her initial state of denial, Hermione had defiantly refused to cooperate with Thanos' orders: food delivered to her was left uneaten, questions were ignored (despite the beatings she'd receive for the insubordination) and she'd frequently fly out of her prisons to explore the land she'd found herself abducted to. Thanos would launch hunts to bring her back and this was usually achieved when Hermione was too weak to continue moving. To keep her alive, she would then be force-fed and injected with unknown substances and she could do nothing but hate every single one of the horrible creatures who assisted in her imprisonment. It was only after she was brought back from her sixth prison break, and come closest to death, that she had realised she was being stupid. Each time she'd escaped, she'd explored a different part of Sanctury, desperate to find something that would give her a chance to get off this godforsaken place, but her hopes were dashed every time; there was _nothing_. Not even another sign of civilisation apart from Thanos' followers, no one who could help her and not a single thing she could use to help herself. The true wake-up call though was how, this time, when she'd collapsed from exhaustion and no one seemed to be coming to retrieve her, she'd actually been concerned that she might die. Starving herself to prove a point to her captor wasn't worth her life. She wasn't going to let herself die here on this desolate rock in a remote part of the galaxy. If she ever _was_ going to get herself back to Earth, then she would have to make sure her body was in a good enough condition to make that happen. The next time food was brought to her, she made sure to eat every morsel.

After this change in her attitude, she was left in peace for a while, presumably so she could build up her strength. During this time, there was little for her to do but think, and she spent countless hours hoping that all her loved ones on Earth were safe and well; praying that what the Other said about them being gone wasn't true. Soon, she'd felt strong enough to do some light exercising to rebuild her muscles and then she was infrequently given permission to go out of her cavern to walk across the rugged landscape. She couldn't help feeling that this quiet period was like the calm before the storm. She knew that Thanos intended her to become a part of his family, though quite what that entailed, she wasn't sure. The likelihood was that he wanted to use her in some fashion and a man who had allegedly destroyed an entire world couldn't want her for any good reason…

The beginning of the storm came when she was escorted into a deep crater. One of her guards locked a metallic bracelet around her wrist without any explanation then left through a door in the wall of the steep crater. All alone, Hermione looked around nervously. A scraping sound made her turn and she saw a grate being lifted from a different part of the wall. A grunting, snuffling noise came from within. With an ear-splitting squeal, a small pig-like animal suddenly burst into the crater with her. It snorted angrily and, when it turned its purple head, Hermione saw a pair of razor sharp tusks gleaming in the starlight. The creature was little over a foot in height but it was still a rather dangerous beast.

"Kill it," came the Other's order from some sort of speaker.

Hermione eyed the creature warily as it did likewise. "Why?" she challenged.

The bracelet on her wrist emitted such an unexpected, painful shock that Hermione fell to her knees. "Because you were told to!" the Other snarled at her.

Sensing a moment of weakness, the little boar charged and Hermione apparated away. When she rematerialized, there was another dose of intense pain from the bracelet. "None of that," the Other snapped. "You are currently receiving shocks on the lowest pain setting. For every minute that goes past, the setting will increase until the beast is dead."

Hermione felt her stomach drop in alarm as the creature rounded on her again. What should she do?

Thinking quickly, she grabbed a handful of the loose rocks that littered the crater's base and threw them at the boar. It squealed and retreated, giving her some crucial thinking time. Killing the creature wouldn't be a pleasant experience by any means, but it wasn't really an action that Hermione would hate herself for doing (She ate meat and used animal body parts in her potions after all). No, her objection came from being coerced into doing something she didn't want to do. She was cooperating with Thanos in terms of eating but that didn't mean she was about to do everything he wanted.

Her bracelet shocked her more painfully this time and she let out a stifled whimper and then her anger rose; Thanos would have to work a lot harder than that to break her.

Mind made up, Hermione apparated straight back to her normal enclosure and tried to brace herself for what was coming. The pain was so intense that she blacked out within seconds. When she regained consciousness, every part of her body ached and tears of frustration welled in her eyes. It was worth it, she told herself. She didn't really care about the boar – it was more what it stood for. If she could be manipulated into killing the animal, the Other would only torture her into doing something else she didn't want to do. And where would it end? No, she had to stand her ground for as long as possible.

While she struggled to recover, a small pink-skinned child entered the cavern to bring her food and apply soothing lotions. Flabbergasted at seeing another human-like person for the first time in weeks, Hermione stared at the child, a girl, in amazement. The girl gazed at Hermione with wide, violet eyes before suddenly looking away and carrying out her chores. When the girl next appeared, Hermione was strong enough to talk to her.

"What's your name?" she asked croakily, almost causing the girl to drop the tray in surprise. "Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you."

The girl stared at her, breathing quickly. If she was human, she would be about eight years old but Hermione had no way of knowing if that was an accurate comparison. The girl put the food down carefully then scurried to the door. She paused just before she left and turned back. "Jara," she whispered before disappearing.

When Hermione was strong enough to stand on two feet again, she was escorted back to the crater. The same creature was released before her and, again, she apparated back to her cavern. Knowing how much pain to expect didn't make it any easier to receive.

After exactly the same thing happened for the third time, Hermione was finally brought before Thanos. During her entire captivity, he had been nothing more than a name to her. The enormous being, hovering over her in his floating throne, radiated power. Physically, he was similar to the human race, just on a larger scale. Golden armour encased most of his body and what little of his thick, stone-like skin that she could see was purple in colour.

He gazed down on her, an unreadable expression on his face.

"You are stubborn." It definitely wasn't a compliment but nor did it sound like much of a criticism. "You refuse to be moulded," Thanos continued in his deep voice, "because you mistakenly believe there to be a reason not to be; that there is an alternative to this path. _There is not_."

Hermione stood her ground and raised her chin in defiance, refusing to be cowed.

"Your life before you came here no longer exists," he boomed, "yet you cling to it like a drowning man, using your memories to keep you afloat of the water's deep embrace. It is time for you to sink into the abyss."

Hermione couldn't stop a shiver creeping up her spine at the ominous words.

Thanos stepped down from his throne and ordered her to follow him. The building they entered was not much better lit than the starry landscape outside but Hermione noticed several dark corridors leading to unknown destinations. They came to a stop in a room with a series of screens that all showed the same unexpected image – Earth.

"You were not chosen to be brought here by chance," Thanos told her as she stared, heartbroken, at her home planet. "The Chitauri invasion of your planet was orchestrated by me." Hermione whipped her head around in shock.

"Loki was working for _you_?!" she gasped.

"Incompetent Asgardian fool," Thanos muttered savagely. "But he did manage to do one thing right; he told me about _you_."

Hermione's breath stuck in her throat.

"Knowing how much I like to take in worthy individuals to become a part of my family," Thanos continued, "Loki passed on how gifted you are in an attempt to sweeten me up enough to stop me hunting him down. He's fortunate he is already dead."

A chilled feeling of sickness spread throughout her body as she recalled the way Loki had seemed to be laughing at her before he'd been sent back to Asgard. He'd known that this would happen to her – _he_ was the reason she'd been taken! Thanos was right; Loki should be glad he was already dead.

"After investigating Loki's claim that there was a human capable of such impressive sorcery, I waited for the perfect time to strike, not just against you but against the planet that had dared to defy me," Thanos snarled. "Your world was in turmoil, with everyone looking over their shoulders at one another, which meant they were too busy to look up. Once you had been successfully captured and taken off-planet, I gave the command to attack."

The images on the screens changed, showing footage from various aircrafts as they launched incredibly powerful missiles on the ground far below. Hermione covered her mouth in despair as she saw London, New York, Moscow, DC, Beijing, Mumbai, Paris, Tokyo and dozens of other cities and military bases all disappear in enormous fiery hazes.

"My forces laid waste to your world but that wasn't enough for me," Thanos' voice was a relentless drill boring away her long-held denial over Earth's fate. "When enough damage had been inflicted to leave your world utterly crippled, deep-resonating charges were set all over the planet." Through tear-filled eyes, Hermione watched the images return to the distant shots of Earth. Suddenly, the images shook violently and she waited, not even breathing, for the pictures to become clear again.

When she saw the mishmash of large space rocks that remained of her home, Hermione could do nothing but close her eyes, tears leaking silently down her cheeks.

Footsteps behind her brought Hermione out of her musings and rushing back to the present. The Kylorian man's lifeless body still lay in a crumpled heap on the grass and foliage in front of her. She turned back to see Nebula scowling as she trampled through bushes.

"The hunt is over, I see," she said coldly as she surveyed the body. "I suppose I should congratulate you on another win but going against you takes all the fun out of the chase."

"I already gave you an embarrassingly long head start," Hermione replied coolly. "You need to raise your game, Nebula." Nebula's fingers twitched and Hermione knew that her sister longed to attack her but even Nebula wasn't that foolish. "I'll meet you back on the Necrocraft and try not to take too long – I've got better things to do than wait around for you."

The young women exchanged hostile stares, both aware that Hermione could easily take Nebula with her but it would be a cold day in hell before Hermione would offer or Nebula would accept.

With a last arrogant raise of her eyebrow, Hermione apparated back to the small flying vessel.

* * *

A/N Now, I imagine you guys have got a lot of questions but, to be honest, I'm not going to give away any spoilers so you'll just have to wait and see what happens!

Until next time...


	3. Chapter 3

A/N Hi guys! I'm sorry this has been a rather slow update. I have absolutely no reason to offer. Thank you for all your support :D

I should warn you that this chapter contains a somewhat disturbing scene of torture.

* * *

 _The engagement party came as a big surprise to Steve and Hermione when the elevator doors opened at Avengers Tower. Cheers greeted their arrival and smiles were exchanged at their matching shocked expressions._

 _Hermione's gaze zeroed in on the gleeful Pepper who had suggested the couple come over for a drink before they headed out for dinner with her and Tony. This was definitely not a quiet dinner for four._

 _Typically, neither her nor Steve were comfortable being in the limelight in their personal lives but Hermione felt such a wave of affection for the people gathered in front of her that she found she didn't actually mind that much._

 _It was the first time the Avengers team had all been together since New York and it was such a joy to socialise with them without the threat of imminent danger. Everyone was happy and smiling – even Thor who had lost his mother and brother just over two months ago. Unsurprisingly, Tony kept the drinks flowing and laughter continuously filled the room. The only time silence settled was when he tapped his glass to make a speech._

" _I'll make this short as you all know I don't particularly like the sound of my own voice," he began, triggering a few smirks. "Cap, Granger," Pepper nudged him in the side and he cleared his throat, "er, Steve, Hermione, you guys are the only people I know who enjoy following rules more than breaking them so I know that you'll find sticking to your marriage vows a piece of cake. But even someone as unqualified to talk about matrimony as me knows that there's more to married life than sticking to the rules. It takes patience, compassion, strength and love – qualities that shine out of you both with ease." Hermione squeezed Steve's hand tightly as she gazed fondly at Tony, completely touched at his unexpectedly sentimental words. Tony raised his glass and the others followed. "To Hermione and Steve."_

" _Hermione and Steve!"_

 _She gazed around at the different faces: Tony, Pepper, Bruce, Natasha, Clint, Thor and Steve. They were a family – a very dysfunctional family to be sure – but she loved them dearly all the same. There would be hard times to come but, as long as she had her Avengers, she would never be alone._

* * *

But she _was_ alone. So alone that at times it was almost suffocating.

She tried to convince herself that Steve, Harry, Natasha and the others were with her in spirit but she couldn't feel them in the slightest. All she had were the memories; flashbacks of a previous life she could never have again. It hurt to think of all she had lost but she wouldn't let Thanos take the legacy of her loved ones away from her on top of everything else…

Hermione turned around to face Gamora, aware that the woman had been silently observing her for the last few minutes. If Gamora felt guilty for being caught in her scrutiny, she didn't show it. More of what Hermione had been thinking about must have shown on her face than she thought it had because Gamora said quietly, "I am sorry for what Thanos did to your planet."

Hermione paused in surprise at Gamora's comment. "I do not think on my time before our father brought me into his family," she lied. "The fate of that world is of no interest to me."

"When Thanos slaughtered my people, I saw it with my own eyes even though I was just a child," Gamora continued, ignoring Hermione's reply. "It must have been hard for you to hear of Terra's fate."

Unintentionally, Hermione's mind drifted back to that darkest of times. That was the bleakest point of Hermione's stay on Sanctuary – the moment where she was broken beyond repair. Alone in her cavern, her emotions would swirl within her in a confusing tumult; sorrow, anger, despair and guilt would each have her tearing away at herself.

When the truth of Earth's demise had finally sunk in, she questioned what meaning the rest of her life held. Without her friends, Steve and her world to protect, and an uncertain future under Thanos' command, what reason was there to live? Why let Thanos torture her into something she didn't want to be? It wouldn't be that difficult to take her own life – all she'd have to do was apparate herself into space and let the lack of oxygen do its work…

She asked herself what her friends would do in her situation; would Steve give up? Would Harry fight until his last breath in this impossible situation? What about Natasha, Ron, Ginny or Tony?

Before she had come to any sort of decision, she was once again escorted to the crater. The little boar-like creature she'd refused to kill was tethered to a post in the middle of the large hollow with a guard nearby.

"The rules have changed," The Other snapped at her side. "If you do not kill the beasts that are brought to you, this is the fate that will befall them." He signalled to the guard, who jabbed at the boar with some sort of weapon. Instantly, flames erupted over the creature's body and it squealed manically. It tugged and pulled at its restraints, trying to get itself free as its skin burnt. Hermione watched in horror; the creature's desperate cries piercingly loud. The guards and the Other were completely unmoved. Hermione took a step forward, hoping, somehow, to put the animal out of its misery but a sharp shock from her bracelet sent her to her knees.

"You had your chance," the Other reminded her coldly. "The pain the creature is experiencing is of _your_ doing."

The smell of burning flesh reached her nostrils and she retched onto the floor. With a final whimper, the boar slumped to the ground and lay still as the flames continued to lick at its body. The dead creature was cleared away and she was left alone in the crater.

The familiar grate was lifted and, with a squawk, a green flightless bird was thrust into the wide arena with her. The bird was tiny, no bigger than the span of her hand, but Hermione stared at it like it was her worst nightmare. Thanos and the Other had upped their manipulations and she was lost in what to do. She was loathe to do what they wanted her to but nor could she stomach the idea of a living creature being needlessly tortured. The bird was unsettled by the roasted stench that clung to the crater and it made little darts amongst the rocks that were strewn across the ground.

"You have one minute," came the Other's scratchy voice.

Hermione stared at the bird and clenched her fists as she deliberated which path to take. Her bracelet stung with each passing second and she wanted to scream at the hopelessness of her situation.

"Ten seconds."

Be strong, she told herself, even with the boar's hysterical shrieks still fresh in her ears.

"So be it," the Other snarled.

Her bracelet shocked her more painfully, not enough to make her black out, but she still collapsed to the ground, a scream forced from her lips. When she was able to open her eyes again, she saw one of the guards had the bird in his grasp. Hermione was about to disapparate but the Other grabbed her arm and pulled her to her feet.

"Time to view your handiwork," he sneered. The bird's screams as it was burnt alive were just as horrific as the boar and Hermione once more questioned whether her life was worth living...

If she expected that to be the end of the session, she was sadly mistaken.

Again, Hermione was left alone in the crater and she waited with trepidation to see which animal she would have to make herself sentence to a tortured death next.

The grate scraped open.

" _No!_ " Hermione gasped.

It was Jara.

Since revealing her name, Jara had appeared a little less terrified when she'd attended to Hermione from then on. The girl would still tense whenever she was spoken to but she'd whisper small answers and give Hermione the smallest of smiles before she left.

And now the girl was to die; that was seemingly inevitable, but Hermione's heart beat furiously as she contemplated what sort of death it was to be. Jara stared at her with terrified eyes, no doubt having heard the tortured cries of the animals that had gone before her.

"One minute."

Hermione nodded, knowing what she must do. With trembling legs, she hurried over to Jara and crouched next to her. She wrapped her arms around the quaking girl, holding Jara's head against her neck as she stroked her brown hair tenderly. Hermione drew back and looked straight into Jara's beautiful purple eyes, her hands cupping the girl's face.

"It's all right," she said softly, "They're not going to hurt you."

Hermione steeled herself. She had to do this. She _had_ to do this for Jara's sake.

"You'll be free now," Hermione whispered and, with her very soul writhing in misery, she powerfully twisted Jara's head sideways until she heard the neck snap. With a pained sob, she clutched the girl to her chest again and rocked her limp body back and forth.

"I'm so sorry," she choked out, "I'm so sorry this had to happen to you."

 _It was a mercy_ , she told herself repeatedly. _You saved her from a horrific, cruel, painful and inhumane death._

A wave of pleasure swept through her and Hermione opened her eyes in alarm. Where had that come from? With horror, she stared at the bracelet encircling her wrist. Surely Thanos wouldn't be disgusting enough to program the jewellery to release positive sensations into her system when she performed actions he approved of? Continuing to cradle Jara's motionless figure, Hermione knew he was capable of such a revolting action and much more besides. She let out a frustrated, tormented scream, completely overwhelmed by the situation.

Rough hands grabbed at Jara's body, wrenching it away from her hold despite her protestations. With a surge of rage, she screamed again and picked up a handful of the small rocks from the ground, flinging them at the Other and the guards; not caring in the slightest should any of them be injured by her actions. They deserved to suffer for what they were making her do, for what had happened to Jara. How Hermione hated them all…

With a start, she realised that this was probably the exact reaction that Thanos wanted to bring out in her so she stopped abruptly and disapparated to her cavern. Part of her hoped that she would be punished severely enough to slip into unconsciousness so she wouldn't have to think about what had happened in the last few minutes. But perhaps the Other realised that being left with her thoughts was a far worse punishment because the shock wasn't anywhere near strong enough.

Hermione sank to the floor and hugged her knees up to her chest, hiding her face in them. The truly sickening realisation was that this was only the beginning; Thanos would have plenty of other heinous tricks up his sleeve to get her to conform to his rule. And how many others innocents would have to suffer because of her? She gagged at the very thought.

Of course, there was a solution to stop all the misery and pain that was set to occur in her name; if she took her own life, Thanos would have no reason to put anyone else to death; no more Jaras would be pawns in his sick, manipulative plots. The inhabitants of the galaxy would be safer if she were no longer alive.

Or would they?

With despair, she recalled what Thanos had told her about his fondness of adopting worthy individuals as his 'children'. Hermione obviously wasn't the first to be selected and others would undoubtedly come after her. They too would have to suffer through this physical and emotional torture. Her death would do nothing to prevent _their_ suffering or that of the unknown innocents Thanos would still exploit in his schemes. It was an unpleasant thought but what could _she_ do about it? The fate of the rest of the beings in the galaxy wasn't her concern! Her driving force had been to protect the people of Earth and she'd utterly failed in that endeavour…

So what was there to live for instead? If she ever managed to get out from under Thanos' watchful eye, she had no home to escape to. The only place she could expect to see a friendly face was on Asgard. But that would be a restless, uncomfortable, guilty existence while she knew Thanos was still at large, ruining countless other lives. Most people would think it perfectly acceptable to hide from such a powerful, cruel enemy like Thanos but Hermione knew that letting such evil remain unopposed went against everything she'd lived for. She thought again of her friends and what they'd do in her position and she knew that stopping Thanos was what they would want to do too.

Hermione finally looked up from her knees and looked around her bleak cavern and laughed humourlessly at the notion that, from her position, she would be able to take down such a powerful being like Thanos.

No, she wouldn't be able to do it on her own. The Asgardians might agree to aid her but just getting herself into Thor's presence would be challenging enough. Without her wand, the only way that it could be achieved would be to gain Thanos' trust; to appear to become the willing, subservient daughter that he wished her to be.

A pulse raced through her body at the very thought; was it fear? Excitement? Dread? Hysteria? She wasn't sure but she could hardly breathe as her mind hazily ran with the idea.

It would be an endeavour far more difficult than anything she'd ever attempted before – a near impossible feat when she was so isolated, but she felt at once that it was something she _had_ to do.

Thanos might believe her to be broken but, in truth, with nothing to lose, her resolve was stronger than ever and, for the first time in weeks, she felt a flicker of hope stir in her chest. This sensation was somewhat diminished at the realisation that she'd no doubt have to perform a large number of atrocities in order to successfully convince Thanos that she was slowly being moulded into his vision. How many people would she have to kill and eventually make it look like she had no qualms doing so? Could she really pull that off or, more to the point, did she actually want to?

Her hand had been forced to kill Jara but, if she decided to take this rebellious path, she would be making the conscious choice to take an unknown number of lives. Was that something she was prepared to do; sacrifice a few innocent lives to potentially save millions? It was a question not unfamiliar to anyone involved in warfare and, she realised, a war was exactly what she was in the midst of. Thanos probably thought the fighting was over but Hermione was about to reignite it and, unfortunately, it always seemed to be the innocent that were the first victims.

Her fellow Avengers wouldn't have had much difficulty carrying out such a deed but she knew that Harry would have more of an issue with it. She and Harry had, of course, already been through a war but their magic had shielded them from having to take such drastic steps. Harry would want to do the right thing. But there wasn't necessarily an option that would fit that ideal – not if she wanted Thanos' reign to end. You didn't win wars without getting your hands a little dirty. Harry may not have compromised himself any more than casting the Imperious Curse, but that didn't mean others hadn't on his behalf…

If there was anyone that Hermione could relate her situation to, Severus Snape was probably the closest she'd get. Her former professor had sacrificed so much to ensure that Voldemort was finally defeated – even committing murder. The troubled, somewhat-cruel Potions Master wasn't the ideal role model but she recognised the inner strength and commitment he had shown to his cause. She would need all that and more if she, too, was to be successful.

Her mind turned over endlessly as she debated what path her future would take. By the time she was next escorted to the crater, her mind was made up: she was going to play the long game to take Thanos down.

In the beginning, she didn't have to act too hard because her revulsion and despair at the tortures Thanos and the Other put her through was to be expected. The pleasurable sensations caused by the bracelet when she did as they pleased still made her sick to her core but she pretended that it was welcome. It took a while to perfect forcing her emotions deep within and, most of the time, she could almost distance herself from the horrible things she was doing. Neither Thanos nor the Other showed any sign of being suspicious of her gradual change and she clung to this hope whenever she let the real world break through her defences in the loneliness of the night and she lay sobbing and breathless on the floor, echoes of her deeds reverberating painfully in her mind. Fortunately, those times were few and, on reflection, she'd be glad of the outburst of emotion because it meant that she was still herself inside; that her increasing apathy truly _was_ an act.

Time passed strangely on Sanctuary and Hermione had little idea how long it had been since she'd first arrived there. Her burning desire to defeat Thanos and avenge the lives of those he'd taken fuelled her to keep going whenever she questioned her resolve. This wasn't easy; especially when Thanos' experiments made her capable of wandless magic.

The first Hermione knew of Thanos' desire to physically alter her body was when she woke up in a strange room, wires from her body leading to various machines. Upon her waking, the technologies immediately started malfunctioning and warning alarms sounded as smoke and sparks erupted around her. Hermione could hear somewhat panicked voices as she started convulsing uncontrollably. There was a sharp pain in her arm and then she was forced into darkness again.

She drifted for a while, not knowing exactly what was going on, but aware that her body was fighting for survival. She couldn't recall being involved in any sort of accident and she became frustrated that her uncompromising exertions may have been for nothing should her body give up this strange internal battle. What had been the point of her struggle on Sanctuary if she was just to die now? So she tried to keep herself calm, to convince herself that she was going to be fine once she woke up.

The next time she regained consciousness, things went more smoothly. Her whole body ached terribly and she barely had the energy to keep her eyes open but there were too many questions going round in her head to prevent her from falling back to sleep.

There was the sound of a door opening and Hermione glanced over to see Thanos walking imperiously towards her. The familiar, burning anger flared up at the sight of him. He may have treated her more kindly recently by giving her more comfortable living quarters, increased freedom to move around Sanctuary as she pleased and a large increase in the positive sensations emanating from her bracelet, but she still wanted nothing more than to wipe him from existence.

"It pleases me to see you are recovering," Thanos said. "I had every confidence that the inner strength I have built up in you would prevail."

Luckily, Hermione was so tired that she didn't have to worry about her face involuntarily showing the scorn she felt at his words. Her inner strength was far greater than he knew and had been in place long before she'd been brought to Sanctuary. The lighting hummed and flickered above their heads for a moment before settling again.

"What happened?" she asked croakily.

"This was a planned procedure," he replied calmly, as though she should have no objection to being unaware of experiments performed on herself. "We have fused the core of your weapon to your body."

Hermione gaped at him. Whatever she'd been expecting him to say, _that_ wasn't it.

Objects around the room started trembling and the lights flickered alarmingly, making Hermione gasp and sit up anxiously. Was _she_ doing that? What had they done to her?!

"You must remain calm," Thanos' low voice instructed and she took a couple of deep breaths. The room stilled again. "As you can see, this has heightened your magical ability. It is my hope that you will now be able to perform all your previous sorcery without the handicap of depending on such a fragile weapon."

Remaining calm was not very easy.

She'd grown accustomed to the idea that her magic was severely limited and eventually regaining her wand had been a somewhat distant and (she'd thought) unrealistic dream. Thanos had taken a great risk tampering with the wand core; both because it probably would've rendered the wand useless and he'd have no idea how her body would react to it. From the sound of it, the procedure had nearly killed her. But, to a man like Thanos, the risk would probably be worth it if it meant he had such a powerful, 'devoted' follower.

Hermione was surprised that Thanos trusted her enough to make her so potent. If he was right about her ability to perform all her old spells, then he must know that her escaping from under his thumb was a conceivable possibility now. Had her acting performance really been that convincing? She would have to be careful, even more so than usual, because Thanos and the Other would be stupid not to keep an incredibly close eye on her to see if she was playing them false now that they had no hold over her.

With a sinking feeling, Hermione realised that Thanos _wasn't_ that stupid as she could quite clearly feel the familiar bracelet around her wrist. She couldn't be sure but she had a feeling that, should the situation call for it, the shackle would be capable of ending her life…

Hermione soon discovered that Thanos' prediction was right because she could perform all of her old spells with just a point of her fingers. It was an incredible feeling to be so at one with her magic but it also came with its drawbacks because, if she wasn't concentrating, there was a strong chance that she'd perform accidental magic. The worst times were when she was sleeping and her mind was free to explore all the feelings and memories she'd so carefully locked away. Every time she woke, she would have to repair something in her quarters that her magic had inadvertently lashed out at.

Further bionic procedures ordered by Thanos apparently gave her increased durability and stamina. Hermione couldn't exactly say she was pleased about the adaptions to her body but if it gave her a greater chance against Thanos then she couldn't complain.

With each new day that passed, she started getting restless, wondering when she would be able to take a decisive step forward with her plan because it felt like she was treading water. She hadn't stepped foot off Sanctuary or come into contact with anyone other than Thanos, the Other, her guards or her victims. She knew Thanos would have plans for her but he wasn't exactly throwing her into the action yet.

The day her bracelet was removed, Hermione knew that things were finally being set in motion. Her arm felt strangely light without it and she had to remind herself that she was in it for the long haul to stop herself from forcing someone to fly her as far away from Thanos' domain as possible. She would have to wait for the optimum time to flee and, in the meantime, gather as much information about Thanos and his plans as she could. The same was true when, not long after, she was sent to ply her trade aboard the Dark Aster. Getting to know Thanos' allies from inside would be very useful, as would gaining knowledge of the galaxy itself.

It didn't take her long to see that Ronan the Accuser was just as mad as Thanos. Ronan didn't trust her enough to make her privy to his plans but Hermione could sense the ferocious malevolence at his core just from being in his presence. Because the Kree warrior's judgement wasn't clouded by any familial sentiments, Hermione knew she had to work harder to convince Ronan of her loyalty to Thanos. Luckily, Ronan was highly impressed with her abilities. Hermione had heard how fiercely he upheld and favoured the Kree culture above all others but, apparently, that could be put aside in order to align himself with a commanding ally like Thanos (especially when one of his subjects was a powerful sorceress).

As for her 'sisters', Nebula's inability to hide her emotions made her easy to read and anticipate but Gamora was a different matter. Hermione watched her green-skinned sister closely and she was sure Gamora did likewise. They had only ever spoken formally when Gamora issued her orders or gave her feedback on excursions they'd taken together. Gamora appeared indifferent about Hermione; neither showing open hostility like Nebula nor anything resembling compassion… until now.

Hermione wondered why Gamora was bringing up the destruction of Earth. Was it a test? Did Gamora want to gauge how deep Hermione's commitment to Thanos lay?

"People die," Hermione stated matter-of-factly. "It's the only certainty of life. What is the loss of a planet to me?"

Gamora looked back stony-faced. "I take it you have heard how Thanos intends to reward Ronan when he brings him the Orb?"

Hermione paused. She knew that Ronan and his forces were desperately seeking some elusive orb for Thanos but she didn't know the reasons behind it. "No, I don't," she admitted slowly.

"Ronan will get his greatest wish," Gamora answered smoothly, "Xandar will be destroyed."

Hermione felt a chill sweep down her body. She had learned of Xandar in her recent studies of the galaxy. It was the capital of the Nova Empire and had a population of around _twelve billion_ people. She knew that Ronan considered Xandarians to be his greatest enemy and wanted to rid the galaxy of their existence. Hermione had previously considered his desire to be nothing more than an indication of his insanity and she'd never thought his vendetta would be a successful one. Therefore, Gamora's revelation was an alarming one. Twelve billion innocent lives for one orb? The number would mean nothing to Thanos, of course, but Hermione struggled to keep up her indifferent façade.

"That's quite a return for Ronan," she eventually managed to say. "I didn't realise quite how valuable the Orb was. What is it?"

"We don't know," Gamora replied with the slightest shake of her head, her eyes fixed on Hermione's face.

With her mind still reeling over the potential devastation, Hermione felt uncomfortable in her sister's presence. "I should be going," she murmured, turning to leave before too many of her true feelings started to seep through her mask.

"Does it bother you?" Gamora asked, blocking her way, "All those deaths?"

"What sort of a question is that?" Hermione responded.

"An honest one," Gamora replied coolly.

"Is this some sort of a test?" she challenged, standing up taller. "Do you wish to gauge the level of my commitment to our father's ambitions?" It was only because she was standing so close to Gamora that Hermione noticed the tiniest tensing of her jaw at the mention of Thanos.

"You still haven't answered my question," Gamora pointed out. "Does the annihilation of billions of men, women and children bother you?"

Hermione paused, uncertain of what was happening. On the one hand, Gamora could be ensuring that Hermione was soulless enough to truly belong to Thanos' family. However, there also seemed to be something under the surface here. The phrasing of the questions and the way Gamora had reacted to Thanos gave Hermione the unexpected feeling that maybe her sister wasn't as loyal to their father as she'd assumed. Could Gamora really be sounding out a potential ally? The possibility that she might not be alone in her war after all made Hermione weak at the knees with relief.

But…what if Gamora's behaviour was merely a ruse to get Hermione to reveal her true colours? She'd battled for too long to give herself away now. And yet, if Gamora was willing to betray Thanos, she would be invaluable. There was a way to find out the truth and, in these most desperate of times, her conscience didn't even flicker as she cast Legilimens on her sister.

Gamora's unsuspecting mind was a whirl of thoughts and emotions and Hermione pushed the idea of Thanos at her. Immediately, a torrent of angry, sorrowful, tortured memories revealed themselves, some from as far back as Gamora's early childhood, and Hermione was no longer surprised that Gamora grew tense at the mere mention of Thanos. Not wanting to pry into her painful past any more than was necessary, Hermione nudged the Orb into Gamora's consciousness. What she discovered there surprised her so much that she pulled out of Gamora's mind, open-mouthed.

Gamora knocked Hermione to the floor and pinned her there, her elbow digging into Hermione's throat. Hermione used her magic to propel Gamora backwards and then held her hands out in a calming gesture.

"I'm sorry," Hermione rasped as Gamora gazed at her warily, "but I had to know the truth. I, I didn't know if I could trust you," she whispered.

Gamora still looked furious and a little shocked about the personal invasion. "Did you see what I saw?" she muttered. Hermione nodded and Gamora frowned, before glancing around the space they were in. "Not here," she warned, sensing Hermione's eagerness to discuss Gamora's planned betrayal of Thanos and Ronan. Hermione nodded again, telling herself to remain calm. "I'm scheduled to take you on a training exercising soon. Don't be late." And with that, Gamora turned and walked away as though nothing had happened.

But, to Hermione, her whole world had changed because it seemed she was finally no longer alone.

A/N Hope you enjoyed it! Things are finally looking up for Hermione.

I'm sure the next chapter won't take so long to be up.

Love,

Lil Drop of Magic


	4. Chapter 4

A/N Thanks for all you kind words of support and encouragement!

* * *

" _Don't you ever get worried?" Harry asked her. Hermione almost laughed at the question but, when she saw the seriousness in his green orbs, she frowned._

" _Of course I do," she replied. "Don't_ you _?" Hermione had been informing him of the events in Greenwich; something she had clearance from Fury to do seeing as Harry was the backup liaison with SHIELD after New York. He had listened to her stories of Asgard, Dark Elves and ancient, indestructible substances in near-silence, though his lips did twitch as she relayed accidentally depriving Malekith of his arm._

" _Being an auror isn't quite at the same level, is it?" Harry responded dryly._

" _Maybe not," Hermione allowed, "but it still comes with great risks. I'm fortunate that my magic gives me a huge advantage over most of my opponents but you have to face things on a far more even footing."_

" _But the sort of enemies you're attracting seem to be ever more dangerous," Harry pointed out, clearly concerned. "And you don't seem to have a problem throwing yourself head-first into that danger."_

" _Hark, who's talking!" she said raising her eyebrows and Harry grimaced._

" _I know, but I'm still allowed to be worried about my best friend, aren't I? I had you at my back the whole way – I just wish I could do the same for you."_

 _Hermione smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "You already have," she reminded him gently. "If you hadn't stopped me in Midtown, I dread to think what would have happened."_

 _Harry nodded, "OK, I helped you once. But I just want you to remember that you always have the choice to walk away; you've already saved this planet so many times over."_

" _You didn't walk away," she pointed out._

" _That's different," Harry claimed, "the prophecy – "_

" _Don't give me that," Hermione interrupted. "You_ chose _to face Voldemort. You would have done the exact same thing had Professor Trelawney never opened her mouth. Do you honestly think I could make myself sit back and let someone else put themselves in danger when I've probably got more chance than anyone of being successful?"_

" _But one of these days you're going to push too far and get yourself killed!" Harry exclaimed._

" _I do not intend for that to happen and I will take every precaution to make sure it doesn't," Hermione said calmly. She thought that Harry, of all people, would understand! "I don't enter into my assignments blindly; I know the risks and I also know that they, and the people I'm protecting, are worth it."_

 _Harry sighed and hugged her. Surprised, because Harry wasn't particularly touchy-feely, it took Hermione a moment to reciprocate and then she held him closely._

* * *

"Korath has returned from Morag," Gamora said as soon as she stepped into Hermione's quarters. Hermione looked at her in alarm, fearing that the Orb had finally been retrieved. "He's about to talk to Ronan. Come," Gamora instructed and Hermione immediately followed her to hear Korath's news.

They found Ronan, Korath and Nebula gathered on the flight deck. From the look on Ronan's face, Hermione guessed that the mercenary had been unable to procure the Orb.

"Master, he is a thief," Korath continued, only sparing Gamora and Hermione's arrival a quick glance, "An outlaw who calls himself Star-Lord. But we have discovered that he has an agreement to retrieve the Orb for an intermediary known as The Broker."

This was both good news and bad news for Hermione and Gamora's scheme. It was a shame that the Orb had been discovered at all but, while it was out of Ronan's clutches, there was still a chance that the two of them could get it away from Thanos for good.

Ronan stared moodily at the floor. "I promised Thanos I would retrieve the Orb for him. Only then will he destroy Xandar for me," he said lowly, his deep voice and the casual mention of the obliteration of a planet creating goosebumps on Hermione's bare skin. Ronan stood and turned to the side, "Nebula, go to Xandar and get me the Orb."

She stepped forwards confidently. "It will be my pleasure," she replied.

Sensing an opportunity, Hermione also stepped forwards. "Please, with all due respect, Ronan, I ask you to reconsider," she said humbly, bowing her head slightly. "Since I have been on your ship, you have provided many chances for me to test and improve myself, for which I thank you. Allow me the honour of retrieving the Orb for you to show you how much I have learned and to repay you for all you have done for me."

Ronan's eyes bored into hers.

"Ronan has already decreed that I – " Nebula began to object but Ronan angrily interrupted her.

"Do not speak for me," he snarled, casting a savage look in Nebula's direction before returning his gaze to Hermione. "You will not fail," he warned menacingly, taking a step towards her but Hermione met his gaze calmly.

"I will not," she agreed.

Gamora stepped forwards. "I will accompany her," she offered.

"I do not need your help, sister," Hermione protested with a frown; she knew Nebula and Ronan would become suspicious should she appear too keen to have Gamora with her.

"But you are incapable of flying yourself such a distance and we cannot afford to return to our father emptyhanded again," Gamora pointed out.

"If anyone goes with her, it should be _me_ ," Nebula argued, "I'm a daughter of Thanos just the same as you two."

"But _I_ know Xandar," Gamora said simply.

" _Enough_!" Ronan snapped, glowering at the bickering sisters. "Gamora will accompany Hermione."

Nebula and Hermione made twin noises of disgust.

* * *

For once, Rocket was in a good mood. Sure, he was on Xandar, and Xandarians were amongst the biggest bunch of losers in the galaxy, but that was something he was happy to put up with when he and his partner in crime, Groot, were about to become super-rich! All they had to do was apprehend and handover the human that their scanner had picked up to some dude called Yondu and then they'd be forty-thousand units better off!

Already picturing how he was going to spend his share of the money, Rocket watched their target, Peter Quill, from afar as he entered a building. Rocket was about to put his scanning device away but it suddenly started to flash red again.

"Two hits in one day?" Rocket murmured holding up the screen to get a look at this new mark. "Finally we get a bit of luck." The scanner had homed in on a young human woman who was sitting at a table on the walkway above them, drinking a beverage, barely a stone's throw from the building Quill had entered. What a crazy coincidence!

Rocket's gaze lowered slightly to look at her details. With each line he read, his eyes got a little wider:

Missing/abducted: Hermione Granger;

Wanted: alive;

Guarantor: Thor Odinson of Asgard.

When he got to the bounty of ten million units, it was almost like someone had punched him in the stomach because he couldn't breathe. He stared at the figure in disbelief. He was about to give the device a hearty whack, convinced that it was malfunctioning, but then in the recesses of his memory he recalled a long ago drunken conversation with one of his associates who'd told him a rumour about some missing Asgardian princess. The details were a little hazy but Rocket clearly remembered being told that she was worth a fortune but no one had any idea what recess of the galaxy she had ended up in. The criminal underworld was always full of rumours; Rocket liked to hear them but he never expected any of them to be true…

"Change of plan," Rocket said hoarsely to Groot before clearing his throat. "You and I are about to pull off the greatest job of all time," he informed the large tree-like creature without looking at him because he was determined not to even blink so that this Hermione Granger wouldn't get away.

Being inconspicuous wasn't particularly easy for Rocket or Groot but Rocket was concerned that causing a lot of commotion would increase the risk of someone else spotting Granger and whisking her away before their eyes. They planned to wait for her to move on to a more secluded spot where they could apprehend her without anyone noticing so they moved a little closer, Rocket watching her intently. If he considered it odd that a so-called 'abducted' princess was nonchalantly sipping a beverage in the middle of Xandar, he found ten million reasons not to care.

"What's she staring at?" Rocket muttered, realising that Granger's gaze was intently focused on something to her left. He climbed onto Groot's shoulders to get a better look and cursed at what he saw. You came across a wide range of skin colours throughout the galaxy but there was only one woman who looked like Gamora, the Deadliest Woman in the Galaxy. Nothing good could come of their target being so close to a lackey of Ronan so Rocket abandoned their stealth-mode of apprehending their target and quickly told Groot to get them onto the walkway. Groot used his unique abilities to make his limbs grow exponentially and Rocket leapt over the barrier. To his alarm, he saw that Granger had left her seat and was walking in Gamora's direction and, to make matters even more confusing, the assassin was talking to their original target, Peter Quill, as he repeatedly tossed up and caught a metal ball. Instinctively, Rocket knew that something was about to go down and he feared for his future millions.

Rocket took a flying leap onto Granger's back and she yelped in surprise as he scrambled around her head and shoulders. Quill and Gamora's conversation halted as they looked over at the altercation.

"Go!" Granger yelled, which must have been an instruction for Gamora because the assassin suddenly wrenched the ball from Quill's grip and kicked him forcefully in the stomach before fleeing along the walkway. Quill spared Rocket and Granger's struggle a last bewildered glance before hurriedly launching a device after Gamora. The weapon wrapped itself around Gamora's legs, making her stumble to the ground, as Quill chased after her.

Meanwhile, Granger had removed Rocket from her person with a strength that surprised him. "Groot, don't let her get away," he called, someone dazed from his hard impact with the ground. Granger sprinted after the other two as they engaged in hand to hand combat on the floor. Granger picked up the Orb as Gamora pinned Quill's limbs down.

"Secure the Orb," Gamora instructed harshly. "Don't worry about me."

Despite the assassin's orders, Granger looked concernedly at the other woman as Quill writhed underneath. Their attention was diverted by the rapidly growing arms of Groot. Rocket felt his spirits lift as the distance between his colleague and their target closed in a flash and then he let out a growl of frustration as vines wrapped around _Gamora_ , not Granger.

"That's the wrong one, you idiot!" Rocket yelled in exasperation as Quill struggled out from underneath Gamora and ran after the escaping Granger.

Quill pulled out a weapon from his holster as he ran and the crowd along the walkway all ducked in alarm, giving him a slightly easier shot. He fired and Rocket watched in concern for his booty as a crackling, blue burst of energy homed in on Granger. Miraculously, it seemed to deflect off something as it smashed into the barrier of the walkway and scattered shards of glass everywhere. Quill tried another tactic and used jet devices in his boots to fly to her.

Gamora had broken free from Groot's restrictions and unleashed a huge blade that she used to violently chop off his arms while Quill tackled Granger and his momentum caused them to tumble down the stairs to the ground below.

Rocket rubbed his forehead in frustration; the situation was fast getting out of control.

"They'll grow back, you daft idiot, quit whining," Rocket pointed out as he climbed onto the barrier, Gamora having already leapt down. He used her head to break his fall as he jumped down too and she angrily flung him away from her. He skidded to a stop not far from the tangled limbs of Granger and Quill and glared over his shoulder at Gamora.

Rocket pulled out his laser cannon from over his shoulder and aimed it at the assassin who was too busy looking at the fight for the orb to notice the ball of pain that was headed her way. She let out a strangled grunt as the energy violently incapacitated her and Rocket turned around to inflict more of the same on the others. Somehow, Granger had knocked Quill out and her hand reached to close in on the Orb that was half poking out of his jacket pocket.

Rocket levelled the laser cannon at Granger. She may be worth ten million units, but he enjoyed using his weapon far too much to care about pissing her off.

Before he could fire, a faint, golden glow surrounded him and he was lifted off his feet. He lowered his weapon with a groan as the familiar sight of a couple of the Nova Corps' Star Blasters hovered in the sky around them.

"Subject 89P13," an authoritative voice called, addressing Rocket by his technical name, "Drop your weapon."

"Oh, crap," Rocket muttered.

* * *

"And who've we got here?" a Nova soldier asked as he and another man hauled Hermione to her feet. Ahead of her, she could see that the strange raccoon and tree-like creatures had been detained by the Nova Corps, as had the unconscious figures of Gamora and Peter Quill.

 _What a mess_.

Things would have gone exactly to plan if that lunatic raccoon hadn't attacked her before she could discretely _confund_ Quill so she and Gamora could relieve him of the Orb. She glanced at the elusive silver object that was just visible in his pocket, irritated that it was just out of reach. Should she choose, Hermione was confident that she could free herself from her restraints, disrupt whatever technology was restricting Quill so she could get the Orb, rescue Gamora and apparate to their ship, but getting safely off the planet would be another matter with the might of the Nova Corps on their tail.

"Not much of a talker, huh?" the soldier continued almost amicably but Hermione kept her mouth closed. "Hey, I recognise this guy," the corpsman said, looking at Quill's levitating figure. "It's Star Prince."

"Star _Lord_ ," Hermione corrected automatically.

"Ah-ha, you _do_ speak!" he said jovially as they frogmarched her away. His eyes took in the others that had been apprehended. "So, a thief, an assassin and a couple of career criminals…Pretty interesting company you keep," he said lightly, giving her a curious look.

"What's going to happen to us?" she asked, trying to work out her next move. If it was possible, she had to keep close to Gamora and Quill so they could finally get their hands on the Orb.

"Well, given their records, they're all going to prison. As for you," he shrugged, "Who knows? You got any outstanding crimes on your record?"

Hermione felt the sting in her chest that was produced whenever she recalled the atrocities she'd committed in her plot to defeat Thanos. If the Nova Corps found out about those, she'd be imprisoned along with the others. Is that what she should do? Admitting to being an adopted daughter of Thanos, an employee of Ronan and a multiple-murderess would surely result in a lengthy sentence but there was no guarantee that she'd be put with Gamora or Quill…

Her priority was to keep the Orb from Ronan and Thanos' clutches. Word would soon reach the Dark Aster of their failed attempt to obtain it and then Ronan would surely launch another effort to wherever Quill ended up, maybe even going in person.

But what if Hermione warned the Nova Empire? She would need to gain many allies in order to defeat Thanos, and the Nova Empire was one of the major forces in the galaxy. If Hermione told them about what had happened to her, would they grant her political asylum and work with her? They'd be warned about Ronan's plot to destroy their planet by passing on the Orb at least. She and Gamora had planned to give the Orb to their buyer in exchange for a ridiculous sum of money but Hermione would rather have the comradeship of a powerful ally than all of those credits. After all, she'd made a vow to herself back on Sanctuary to do whatever she could to stop Thanos from destroying any more lives.

But should she reveal her magic to the Xandarians? Gamora had warned her against displaying her gifts to _anyone_. They'd kept her use of magic to the minimum in their attempt to steal the Orb from Quill because, according to Gamora, the galaxy was full of backstabbing criminals who would betray you for a handful of credits. Hermione doubted that the analogy applied to the Nova Corps but she couldn't help but worry what their reaction would be. Would they be fearful of her abilities and have her detained and experimented on? Their technology far exceeded Earth's and no doubt their government would love to discover the secret behind her magic so they could utilise it for themselves. Yes, she could look after herself (more so than ever) but being on the run from Thanos, Ronan _and_ the Nova Empire wasn't something she particularly wanted to do. However, if they decided to throw her in prison anyway, she might not have a choice because she had no intention of staying there.

The Corpsman frowned at her silence and obviously took it as a sign of her guilt. "You _do_ have outstanding crimes, don't you?"

"I have intelligence of a threat to Xandar," she said instead and the two corpsmen exchanged looks of surprise.

"All right, let me get a look at this one," another soldier ordered as he walked towards them, glancing at some sort of device. He seemed to be using the equipment to scan her so she sent an invisible wave of magic at the device. A few sparks issued from it and the soldier, a millenian, dropped it in surprise. He frowned down at the broken equipment and then looked up at Hermione. "I suppose we'll have to do this the old fashioned way for now. Name?"

"It's of no consequence," she answered.

"I'll decide that," he sneered, looking down his nose at her.

"Millenian Shul, sir," the friendly corpsman addressed his superior, "She says she has intelligence of a threat to Xandar."

"Really?" Millenian Shul looked sceptical. "Well, let's hear it then."

"Ronan the Accuser," Hermione began and the millenian laughed.

"Ronan the Accuser is a threat to Xandar?!" he said sarcastically. "Who'd have thought it? A really valuable asset you've uncovered here, Corpsman Dey."

"He's going to use Thanos' help to destroy the planet," Hermione insisted.

"And how's he going to do that?" Shul enquired, crossing his hands over his chest.

"I don't know the exact logistics," Hermione admitted, "but you must listen to me!"

"I am listening," Shul claimed. "If what you say is true, the only way you would be partial to that knowledge is if you are in league with Ronan and Thanos yourself. So, you were right, your name _is_ of no consequence because any associate of those two gets a one way ticket to prison," he informed her, looking only too happy to inform her of her fate. "Transport her to headquarters," Shul ordered and after a slight hesitation from Corpsman Dey, her hands were cuffed and she was forced into a Nova transporter.

Hermione seethed at the arrogance of the millennian, something that was picked up on by Corpsman Dey, who accompanied her to Nova Corps headquarters.

"There _is_ a real threat to Xandar, isn't there?" he questioned lowly. Hermione glanced at him. There was something about this Xandarian that she wanted to trust.

"That depends," she admitted.

"On what?"

"Which prison you send me to," she replied and Corpsman Dey's forehead creased in confusion. One unpleasant encounter with a Xandarian shouldn't colour her judgement but Hermione had decided that it was better to keep the Nova Corps out of this for now. Getting the Orb to the other end of the galaxy in the company of Gamora, someone who knew all about the darker side of the galaxy, was more likely to be a successful endeavour than trying to convince the Nova Empire that, despite her history with Thanos and Ronan, she was trying to keep Xandar safe by hiding a silver ball. "Look, I'm not going to explain everything because it'll take too long and you'll feel obligated to tell your superiors and then we'll get stuck in a bureaucratic nightmare. And, while the Nova Empire figures out what it's going to do, Ronan will be free to do what he must to bring about an end to Xandar."

Dey openly gaped at her. "There's a lot more to you than meets the eye, huh?" he muttered eventually and Hermione tried not to let her amusement at that understatement show. "Which prison do you want to be sent to?"

"It's not the destination," she answered, "It's the company. I _must_ be with Peter Quill and Gamora."

"Why?" he asked and then held up a hand with a sigh. "Never mind, I know you're not going to tell me." Dey looked at her pensively. "How'd you end up getting mixed up with Thanos and Ronan?"

"It wasn't by choice, believe me," she muttered.

"Why should I?" he challenged. "What reason do I have trust you?"

"Well, my cuffs have been undone since the moment I sat down," Hermione informed him, moving her freed arms around to the front so that her hands rested on her lap, "and I haven't made any move to escape."

"But if you want to be sent to prison, you wouldn't want to escape, would you?" Dey pointed out slowly, frowning at her freed hands.

"That's true," she agreed with a sigh. "So, what can I do to prove my intentions are good?"

Dey regarded her and Hermione openly met his gaze, hoping he could sense the truth.

"Just tell me why you're doing this," he said simply.

"Because it's the right thing to do," she replied. "If Ronan gets his way, billions of people are going to die. What sort of person would I be if I stood by and let that happen?"

He shook his head. "No, there's more to it than that. You're involving yourself in this when I bet that you probably don't have to. Are you even _from_ Xandar?"

Hermione tensed. If she was going to win Dey over, she'd have to let him see deeper inside of her. "No, I'm not," she admitted. "My home is gone, as are my family, friends and practically everything else that defined my life."

"Thanos?" Dey asked.

She nodded stiffly, not enjoying the exposed feelings when she let down her barriers slightly. "If I can stop it from happening again, I will. I've always been a fighter – standing up for what I believe in, and that's one of the only things Thanos wasn't able to take away from me." She realised that she was trembling and she blinked quickly to get rid of the wateriness in her eyes. Talking with Corpsman Dey, a seemingly ordinary man, had struck a chord in her. Everyone else she'd encountered since her abduction had possessed a surreal quality: genocidal warlords, assassins and alien servants, but Dey could easily be from Earth and his fundamental goodness was a balm to her tortured soul. He was exactly the sort of person that she was going up against Thanos for. She just hoped he'd let her.

Dey rubbed a hand over his eyes. "OK, then; let's send you to prison."

* * *

Corpsman Rhomann Dey shifted his weight anxiously as Denarian Saal entered the room to be briefed about the apprehended criminals.

"Sounds like it was a good haul, Dey," Saal said in greeting with a small nod of the head.

"Yes, sir," Rhomann agreed, "And they're a very interesting bunch." Which was putting it mildly considering the mysterious woman he now found himself helping. "But I'm afraid headquarters has been suffering strange malfunctions today, sir. A lot of our tech has been sporadic." Rhomann knew who lay behind the problems; she'd warned him that their systems wouldn't be able to get a read on her, but he didn't know how she was doing it and nor did he really want to…

"Yes, I heard something about that on the way over," Saal muttered. "Never mind, let's see the first one."

Gamora appeared behind the large screen in front of them. "Gamora," Rhomann introduced, "Surgically modified and trained as a living weapon." As he spoke, graphics and data appeared on the screen giving more details about her. "The adopted daughter of the Mad Titan, Thanos. Recently, Thanos leant her and her sister Nebula out to Ronan, which leads us to believe that Thanos and Ronan are working together."

"Subject 89P13. Calls itself Rocket," Rhomann continued when the racoon appeared before them. "The result of illegal genetic and cybernetic experiments on a lower lifeform." The extra information on Rocket showed that he had thirteen counts of theft, twenty-two counts of escape from incarceration, seven counts of mercenary activity and fifteen counts of arson. There was an official warning of his tendency to bite but anyone who had come into contact with the critter knew that his coarse personality was far more grating.

"What the hell?" Saal said slowly at the arrival of the next prisoner.

"They call it Groot," Rhomann explained but he could understand the wonderment; the _Flora Colossus_ species was one of the most incredible in the galaxy. The creature's arms were already growing back quickly after he'd lost them earlier to Gamora's blade. "A humanoid plant that's been travelling recently as 89P13's personal houseplant slash muscle."

"Peter Jason Quill, from Terra," Rhomann said, watching wryly as Quill held up an enclosed hand and used his other one to mime a winding action that slowly raised his middle finger in an obscene gesture. "Raised from youth by a band of mercenaries called the Ravagers, led by Yondu Udonta."

When Quill's finger was fully erect, he adopted a look of mock-surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry," he said contritely, "I didn't know how this machine worked."

"What a bunch of a-holes," Saal drawled, looking unimpressed as Quill attempted to push his finger down, only for it to spring straight back up again. "Who's next?"

"Honestly, sir? We don't really know," Rhomann replied, feeling another twinge of anxiety. The mysterious woman's image come onto the screen and then flickered into nothing. "Ah, it's another one of those glitches," he said apologetically.

"Does she have a name?" Saal asked, standing up straighter with a displeased expression.

"Not one she's been willing to share," he replied, shaking his head. "She's an unknown entity. In the brief time our scanners were working, we didn't find a match with her fingerprints so she doesn't have any previous convictions. All we _do_ know is that she arrived on Xandar with Gamora."

"So she has possible connections with Ronan and Thanos too," Saal concluded, a contemplative look on his face. "There _are_ rumours that Thanos has adopted another daughter. Do you think this woman could be her?"

"Possibly," Rhomann allowed, though privately he was pretty sure that she was. A potential affiliation like that should ensure she got the prison stay she wanted. "She's got the athletic build and the combat skills; she knocked Quill out with a single punch!"

Saal looked impressed. "Good for her. Right, transfer all five to the Kyln to await sentencing," he ordered and turned to leave.

Rhomann started in quiet alarm. "Denaarian Saal," he called and his superior turned back. "With all due respect, the Kyln is a barbaric place," he began but Saal cut him off.

"Corpsman Dey," he said firmly, "I am fully aware of your concern, but our local cells aren't enough for these prisoners, especially with these technical difficulties."

"Sir," Rhomann tried again, but Saal ignored him.

"So, for now," he continued, "The Kyln will have to do." And, with that, Denaarian Saal exited the room.

Rhomann stared after him, trying to ignore his sense of unease, both for doing the bidding of a mysterious prisoner and for what lay in store for her when she got there…

* * *

A/N Funnily enough, there is a slightly extended version of that final scene on the DVD which shows Dey's concern for sending them to the Kyln which fits in perfectly with him working with Hermione. I love it when little things like that go my way :)

I hadn't planned on updating today but then I saw the Guardians 2 trailer and it made me so bloomin' happy that I had to show some Guardians love!

I was also lucky enough to watch the Cursed Child in London last weekend which has kept me on a Potter high for a while! If you get the opportunity, you HAVE to see it.

Anyway, let me know what you think about the chapter (or the Guardians 2 trailer or Cursed Child (or even Doctor Strange!) but NOT Fantastic Beasts because I haven't seen that yet!)

Lots of Love,

Lil Drop of Magic


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Hey, everyone! Happy holidays! One final chapter for you in 2016 before the new year rolls in!

I've had some really lovely reviews lately so thank you for all your super support.

* * *

 _Hermione compulsively smoothed her fingers around the base of the mug, hating the awkwardness that hung between herself and Ron. When she recalled the previous way their last meeting had ended, (after she had abruptly admitted during dinner with Harry, Ginny and Steve that she'd been lying to him about her work for months) she convinced herself that the discomfort was necessary to rebuild their friendship. That disastrous dinner had been a few days ago but she knew that Ron was still hurt from the deceit she'd carried out; part of which had occurred during their relationship._

 _Ron took a sip of his coffee and surveyed her quietly. "I know I'm not as well-read on our society's regulations as you are, but you've got to be breaking some sort of decree," he mumbled with a frown. "You're not going to end up in Azkaban, are you?"_

 _Of all the things she had been anticipating Ron saying, that wasn't it, and a wave of affection swept through her. "I certainly hope not," she replied, "I'm definitely skirting very close to the limit of a few of our laws – but only for the good of magical kind."_

 _Ron let out a breath of humourless laughter and shook his head._

" _What?" Hermione asked, unhappy with his reaction._

" _Everyone always thinks you're so straight laced and you'd rather kiss a blast-ended skrewt than break a rule," he began, "But I honestly think you were the quickest of us three to forget them when the situation called for it."_

" _Well, we did get into some rather sticky situations," she replied defensively._

" _What about brewing the_ Polyjuice Potion _?" Ron pressed. "We didn't_ have _to investigate who the Heir of Slytherin was, but there we were, under your orders to steal boomslang skin and drug our fellow students."_

" _We were trying to stop people being attacked!" she retorted, "There's nothing wrong with that."_

" _I'm not saying there is," he answered, "Nor with creating Dumbledore's Army or breaking into the Ministry of Magic, but you have to admit that you aren't exactly the law-abiding citizen that you pretend to be."_

" _I don't pretend," she began to deny but at Ron's relentless look she let out a huff. "Fine, I'm not as much of a goody-goody as everyone thinks, what's your point?"_

" _Look, don't be offended," he started cautiously and Hermione gave him a sharp look._

"I'll try _," she said pointedly._

" _But – and I'd say the same was true of Harry and probably myself a bit too at the time – that kind of 'rules don't apply to me' attitude has an air of arrogance about it. We got away with a lot, mostly because we were kids and we were trying to stop a bloody maniac, but he's gone now. We're the new generation trying to set the example; you can't go around flouting decrees and expecting to get away with it all the time."_

 _Hermione stared at him, shocked at the mature, rational comments coming from the man who had, only a few years ago, relied on a questionable book to teach him how to talk to girls._

" _I'm_ not _flouting decrees," she stressed._

" _You'd better hope not," he warned, "Because if news of your job ever breaks, there's going to be one hell of an uproar and there will be plenty of worried witches and wizards that will want to punish you for risking everything we've worked hard to keep hidden. If you've stepped over the line at all, they'll send you down for it, whether you believe you did it for their good or not."_

 _Hermione tapped her fingers against her mug and considered his warning. "I'm prepared for that," she said after pause. "I always knew it was a possibility when I accepted the job… However, I probably should take stock of what I've done over the past eighteen months or so, to check where I would stand in a legal point of view." Being imprisoned wasn't something she particularly liked to think about but Ron was right; there_ was _almost an arrogance in not always considering where her actions might land her. "Thank you for reminding me of the reality of what I'm doing," she said warmly. "I'm sorry that this job has stopped me from being as good a friend to you."_

 _Ron shrugged though his expression was less casual. "If what you're doing is really that important, I can't exactly hold that against you," he said heavily and Hermione felt her heart ache. They both knew that her commitment to her job hadn't just put strain on their friendship but had almost certainly brought an end to their relationship. Happy as she now was with Steve, Hermione couldn't say that she regretted accepting her position at S.H.I.E.L.D and the consequences that followed, but she definitely lamented any hurt she'd caused him._

" _Just… don't forget who you are," Ron added, surprising her. "I mean, I guess you've got to hide being a witch most of the time - and that's not right because I know you almost felt like you had to_ prove _to some people you were a witch when we were growing up – but, to me, you are, and always will be, the most bloody brilliant witch I've ever met so make sure you're true to yourself."_

* * *

Throughout her journey on the Nova Corps transport ship, Hermione sat in tense anticipation. Had Corpsman Dey come through for her? In her temporary cell, she had no idea where she was being sent to or who was on board with her. She'd had no sighting of Gamora or the Orb since they'd been arrested. If she found herself somewhere she didn't want to be, Hermione would have to resort to desperate measures to get herself back on track…

The persistent hum and gentle vibrations of the ship's engine stilled and Hermione realised that they'd reached their destination.

A couple of minutes later, a stony-faced guard unlocked her door and ordered her out. She acquiesced with his orders and followed him back through the ship and out of the loading doors into a grimy looking corridor. There, Gamora was also standing in handcuffs, and Hermione allowed herself a small smile at seeing that the two of them would be able to continue their scheme together. Hermione wanted to talk to Gamora but she knew better than to do so when there were so many untrustworthy characters around – not least the trio of Rocket, Quill and Groot who were brought into the corridor behind her. The raccoon's eyes lit up at the sight of her and he pushed past Quill so he could stand next to her in line. She vaguely wondered what she'd done to make Rocket and Groot want to abduct her but, in the grand scheme of things, it didn't really matter because she wouldn't be going anywhere with them!

"Watch it!" Quill snapped as he almost tripped over thanks to Rocket's quick movements.

A nearby guard raised his electroshock weapon in warning and Quill straightened up, glancing between Rocket and the guard in annoyance.

"Welcome to the Kyln," another guard at the head of the line announced sarcastically and he motioned for them to begin their walk to processing.

Hermione heard Rocket chuckle behind her.

"What's so funny?" Quill muttered. "Anybody would think you want to be here."

"I guess most of the Nova Corps want to uphold the law," Rocket answered in an easy manner, "But these ones here, they're corrupt and cruel. But hey, that's not my problem, I'm not gonna be here long. I've escaped twenty-two prisons, this one's no different," he boasted as they walked slowly along the corridor. "You're lucky a better offer came up," he said to Quill, "Because otherwise, Groot and I would be collecting that bounty right now and you'd be getting drawn and quartered by Yondu and those Ravagers."

"I've had a lot of folks try to kill me over the years," Quill scoffed, "I ain't about to be brought down by a tree and a talking raccoon."

"Well, _Granger_ brought you down easily," Rocket pointed out. Hermione glanced over her shoulder, surprised to have heard her name, but Rocket was looking confused. "What's a raccoon?" he asked, apparently unaware what species he was.

" _What's a raccoon?"_ Quill mocked, _"_ It's what you are, stupid."

"Ain't no thing like me, except me," Rocket claimed proudly.

"Whatever, that was just some freaky, lucky shot," Quill claimed, frowning at Hermione, who looked forwards again. "I don't even remember you hitting me."

Rocket laughed again. "Serves you right for picking a fight with an Asgardian, dumbass."

Hermione gasped and turned to face Rocket. " _What?"_

Quill gaped open-mouthed at her. "Holy shit, you're an Asgardian! That would be totally awesome if you hadn't beaten me up and landed me in prison."

Hermione's brow crinkled in confusion. "I'm not an Asgardian," she said to Rocket. "Why would you think that?"

"Move!" the rear guard ordered her brusquely and she shuffled forwards while glancing over her shoulder.

"Your bounty notice comes from there," Rocket explained and, if it was possible, he was eyeing her more curiously now than he was before. "It said you were abducted."

Hermione's heart was beating thunderously in her chest at the notion of something so tangible from her past. "The notice came from Thor?" she asked, licking her lips to moisten her suddenly dry mouth.

Rocket nodded. "You've got some pretty powerful friends, Granger," he said, pointedly looking past her at Gamora. "We were trying to take you to him and then everything just went bat-shit crazy."

Thor was looking for her! He must have been alerted about her abduction from Earth before the planet was destroyed! She'd always hoped that he'd managed to survive Thanos' act of atrocity but knowing that, after all this time, one of her friends was out there, someone who knew the _real_ her, was the most exhilarating feeling she'd experienced in a very long time.

"Who the hell _are_ you?" Quill asked but Hermione pointedly didn't answer. "Oh, I see, a friend of Norse gods is too high and mighty to answer personal questions from mere mortals such as myself. But this Orb has a real Ark of the Covenant, Maltese Falcon kind of vibe. What is it?" Quill asked and Hermione once again found herself stunned by familiar terminology. The film references and use of the word 'Norse' could only mean that Quill was from Earth! All these months she'd assumed she was the last being of her planet alive in the universe and, despite the vastness of space, she'd managed to bump into possibly the only other person from Earth! All these staggering revelations were beginning to crack through her normal composure as strange thoughts and emotions flitted through her mind.

"I am Groot," came the helpful comment from the back of the line.

"So what?" Quill responded. "What's the Orb?" Hermione was too preoccupied with her thoughts to answer so he looked to Gamora. "What about you, flirty face?"

"I have no words for an honourless thief," Gamora said lowly.

"Pretty high and mighty coming from the lackey of a genocidal maniac," Rocket pointed out and Gamora looked at him coldly. "Yeah, I know who you are. Anyone who's anyone knows who you are."

"Yeah, we know who you are," Quill added confidently before whispering to Groot, "Who is she?"

"I am Groot."

"Yeah, you said that," Quill muttered.

"We weren't retrieving the Orb for Ronan," Gamora explained as the lead guard keyed a code into a device in his arm to unlock the next section of the prison. "We were betraying him. I had an agreement to sell it to a third party."

"I am Groot."

"Well, that's just as fascinating as the first eighty-nine times you told me that," Quill said irritably over his shoulder. "What is _wrong_ with Giving Tree, here?"

"Well, he don't know talking good like you and me," Rocket answered, "So his vocabulistics is limited to 'I' and 'am' and 'Groot.' Exclusively in that order."

"Well, I tell you what, that's gonna wear real thin, real fast, if I…" Quill trailed off and Hermione turned, surprised that he'd stopped his incessant chattering. He was looking in a room connected to their corridor. Or, more specifically, at a large blue-skinned guard who held a cassette Walkman that had the faint sound of music emanating from the connected foam headphones. "Hey!" Quill called angrily, "Put that away!" But the guard ignored him and put the headphones over his ears. "Son of a," he muttered, slipping into the adjacent room before the railed door slid shut. "Hey! Listen to me, you big blue bastard. Take those headphones off," Quill ordered but Hermione could see he was wasting his time. "That's mine, those belong to impound." The rest of the prison workers looked on tensely as the muscular blue guard reached for a shock-weapon. "That tape and that player is mine!" Quill cried but the guard electrocuted him in the chest and he fell to his knees. "Hooked on a Feeling, Blue Swede, 1973. That song belongs to me!"

Hermione watched disapprovingly as Quill was shocked again, falling to the floor. For a brief moment she'd wondered if perhaps Quill was one of many who had escaped when Earth was destroyed and she'd had the heart-stopping hope that maybe some of her friends were alive after all. However, after seeing Quill's Walkman, she knew that he must have been away from Earth for many years rather than a few months. As Quill was electrocuted _again_ because of his attachment to a piece of old technology, Hermione seriously hoped there were others of their race amongst the stars because if she and Quill were all that was left to represent Earth then, on the face of it, they probably wouldn't be anybody's first pick. After a moment of reflection, she realised that she was being a bit hard on him. She had nothing left of her own from Earth but, if she had, she'd probably be just as attached to it as Quill was. The guard made to jab at Quill again but Hermione had seen enough; with an invisible wave of her magic, the weapon chugged out of a puff of black smoke and powered down.

Gamora glanced at her knowingly and didn't look particularly impressed with her taking pity on Quill. "These are _absolutely not_ the sorts of people you want to know about that," Gamora warned lowly as Quill was forced back into line. "Wait for things to cool down and then we'll go."

Before Hermione could respond, she and Gamora were separated from the men and made to strip down to their underwear. After a highly unpleasant blast with an orange chemical wash, they were given a simple yellow prison uniform and reunited with Rocket, Groot and Quill. Finally, they were sent into the prison block itself.

Hermione gazed around with wide eyes, taking in the huge structure and various races. She hadn't expected the other occupants of the prison to look kind and welcoming but she was taken aback by the malevolent and abrasive look each person seemed to have. She wasn't scared but it was a somewhat intimidating environment to walk into, particularly with the way some of them leered at her.

A number of angry shouts and thrown pieces of garbage caught Hermione's attention and she realised that Gamora was their target. The animosity on people's faces as they yelled and mimed slashing her throat gave Hermione a touch of concern – Gamora was highly competent but, in an enclosed space where everyone detested her, there was no guarantee she would survive for long.

"It's like I said, she's got a rep," Rocket explained with a shrug as the abuse continued to be hurled at Gamora. "A lot of prisoners in here have lost their families to Ronan and his goons. She'll last a day, tops."

"The guards'll protect her, right?" Quill asked, also looking taken aback.

"They're here to stop us from getting out," Rocket said. "They don't care what we do to each other inside."

Hermione shook her head recalling Gamora's desire to wait for things to cool down before they escaped. From the looks of things, that wouldn't be possible. The Orb was just sitting with Quill's other possessions in an impound locker – it would be simple for Hermione to break them out, retrieve the Orb and then commandeer a spacecraft for them to meet the buyer. She turned to Gamora, intending to tell her that, but suddenly found someone had grabbed her arm and yanked her into a group of prisoners. "Hey, baby," said the muscular man who'd grabbed her, "Come play with us." Hermione wrenched her arm away in disgust and could feel others closing in behind her. Her hands curled into fists at her side as she prepared to give the men a very clear message that she wasn't interested but a large shadow fell across the group. Groot stuck a branch-like finger up the prisoner's nostrils and the man jerked and groaned in pain.

"Let's make something clear," Rocket announced loudly to the crowd as the man continued to whimper. "This one here's _our_ booty," he said, pointing to Hermione. "You want to get to her, you go through us," he threatened. "Or, more accurately, we go through _you_." There was a sickening noise and the prisoner howled in agony as Groot removed his fingers and left him writhing on the ground.

"I'm with them," Quill called, stepping over the man.

Hermione shook her head in exasperation and walked after Rocket and Groot. "You didn't have to do that," she pointed out because she could have easily handled those men on her own.

"You're welcome," Rocket replied, misreading her tone. "Stick by me, Granger, I ain't gonna let anything happen to you before I break us out, and then it's off to Asgard we go. I'm looking forward to it; I've always wanted to see what it looks like."

"Look, I appreciate what you're trying to do for me," she began diplomatically. "But I'm not going to Asgard with you. Gamora and I – "

"I don't care if you don't want to go," Rocket argued. "You ain't got a say in the matter."

"Yes, I do," Hermione insisted, "I _will_ go to Asgard but at a time and means of my own choosing."

"I am Groot."

"I know, I didn't expect her to be selfish either," Rocket said, apparently able to understand and agree with Groot. "Do you have any idea how much Thor's offering for you?"

"How much?" Quill asked curiously, having been eavesdropping on their conversation. "I reckon you'd make a good one hundred K."

" _Ten million_ ," Rocket announced.

Quill's jaw dropped and he gaped at Hermione. She knew that was quite a lot of money but it paled in comparison to what the buyer was prepared to pay for the Orb. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen," Quill whispered and she clicked her tongue in irritation.

"Hey, don't get any ideas," Rocket warned him but Quill continued to stare enraptured at her and Hermione turned away in annoyance.

A buzzer started to blare around the facility and a soft yellow light blinked on and off, signalling that it was time for the prisoners to return to their cells. Hermione had been assigned different sleeping quarters to Gamora and she watched as a crowd formed around her sister, shouting threats and insults as they followed her to her cell.

A pair of guards appeared in front of Hermione, blocking her view.

"Come with me," one of them ordered, his eyes running up and down her body. Hermione did as ordered, the other guard following close behind.

"Where are you taking her?" Rocket called as they passed him but the raccoon was ignored. "Jackasses!"

As she walked, Hermione contemplated the reasons why she had been summoned. Had they found her bounty notice from Thor too? Had Corpsman Dey convinced other members of the Nova Corp that she had important knowledge of a threat to Xandar? Perhaps they wanted to find out more about her seeing as they didn't even know her name yet.

Two sets of security doors later, she was shown into a room which, unlike most of the building, had completely solid walls that prevented anyone from seeing inside. A little unnerved at the implications, Hermione sat behind the table at the seat indicated and sent out a continuous stream of anti-technology magic in case they were trying to scan her.

The guards left her in there and locked the door behind them without saying a word. Hermione calmly placed her hands on the table and waited. How long she was left there, she didn't know, but in all that time the only visible movement was the steady rise and fall of her chest.

Eventually, the same guards returned with a tray of food and set it on the table in front of her.

"We thought you might be hungry," one them said, his voice raspy and not at all pleasant.

Hermione watched them carefully. "I'm not."

"That's from the guard's mess," the other man said. Normally, his tone would be considered pleasant but the hungry look on his face as he stared at her negated that. "You won't get anything like that back inside, right, Ang?" he said to the other guard, who nodded. "Try it." He pushed the tray closer to her.

At Hermione's lack of movement, the first guard patted the other on the shoulder with a chuckle. "Ease up, Tarl; she probably thinks we've poisoned it or something." He sat on the corner of the table and smiled in what he probably thought was a friendly way. "Look, love, Tarl and I just like to do favours for the prisoners we take a shine to. There's no harm in it."

"And what do _you_ get out of it?" Hermione asked though she was pretty sure she already knew the answer.

"What are you willing to give?" Tarl replied bluntly, his gaze making her skin crawl.

"We're not just offering food," Ang added quickly, perhaps sensing her aversion. "There's lots we can do for you. And in a place like the Kyln, you need as many friends as you can get on both sides of the door."

"I don't really see how I can be a friend to you," Hermione stated and Ang chuckled, moving himself far too close to her. He rested one foot on the corner of her seat and reached forwards to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear and then his fingers traced along her jawline until he had a soft grip on her chin.

"Oh, I think you do," he murmured, bringing his head down to hers.

Hermione stood, pushing him away, as the chair scraped noisily along the floor. "No." She doubted that a simple refusal would be enough but she wanted to at least give them the benefit of the doubt before she insisted more firmly.

"You might want to rethink your answer," Tarl said lowly. "One of our favours is not telling the other prisoners that you're associated with Ronan too; we know you travelled to Xandar with Gamora. Give us what we want and you won't have to worry about a knife in your back in the middle of the night."

"I can look after myself," Hermione asserted and Ang laughed.

"I'm sure that's what Gamora thought too but she should be dead by now," he said.

"What?" Hermione gasped.

"Some of the prisoners are taking her down to the showers to kill her," Ang explained, advancing on her. "There's nothing you can do to stop it and that'll be your fate too if you don't – "

Hermione stunned them both and quickly modified their memories so they wouldn't remember this had happened or even that she had ties to Ronan. She apparated back to a secluded part of the prison and listened intently. Hearing voices, she ran in that direction.

She came upon some prisoners running _from_ the showers. "You don't want to go in the showers," one of them warned. "Drax is in there!" Hermione didn't know who or what Drax was, but that wasn't about to stop her.

As she turned into the showers, she saw that a hugely muscular figure held Gamora by the throat. Presumably, he was the Drax she had been warned about. Quill was standing a few yards away with his hands held up peacefully in front of him. Rocket was standing half in the shadows but when he saw Hermione he clung to her leg. "Granger, no, please! Do _not_ get messed up in this."

Hermione ignored him and stepped fully into the showers. "Let her go," she commanded and Drax glowered at her.

"Really?" Quill said sarcastically. "You think you can take this guy on? You're about as intimidating as a butterfly. Relax, I've got this. Um, where was I?"

"You told me you had lain with an A'askavariian," Drax said, his deep voice reverberating around the space.

"Oh, yeah," Quill turned to Hermione, "That was only because I was trying to get information from her." At Hermione's unimpressed look, he muttered, "And you don't care either. OK, the point was, she betrayed Ronan," he said, pointing to Gamora. "He's coming back for her, and when he does, that's when you…" Quill drew his finger across his throat.

Drax frowned. "Why would I put my finger on his throat?" he muttered.

"What?" Quill asked and then realised what Drax meant. "Oh. This is a symbol." He repeated the action again. "This is a symbol for you slicing his throat."

"I would not slice his throat," Drax argued. "I would cut his head clean off!"

As Quill explained that the gesture was a general symbol for death, Hermione saw that Gamora was running out of air and decided to take action. "Let Gamora go," she said calmly, while simultaneously casting the Imperius Curse on Drax, forcing him to loosen his grip on Gamora slightly. Her curse wasn't very strong because she just wanted to guide his actions rather than force them. Gamora painfully sucked in huge breaths of air as Drax looked at the floor in confusion.

"Right, good," Quill muttered, looking surprised that Drax should listen to her. "That's what I was saying; you want to keep her alive. Don't do Ronan's work for him."

Drax stared for a while at the makeshift weapon he was holding. "I'm keeping the knife," he muttered after a while and then walked out of the showers.

"That was my favourite knife," one of Gamora's assailants muttered but no one paid any attention to him.

Hermione knelt down next to Gamora and applied a soothing charm to her throat. "Is that better?" she asked and Gamora nodded.

"That was a neat Jedi mind trick you did there," Quill said admiringly. "Is that how you knocked me out earlier – by just telling me to be unconscious?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Hermione sighed, pulling Gamora to her feet, and the two of them walked out together.

"Hey! Don't I at least get a 'Thank you'," Quill called after them as they started making their way back up the stairs to the cells, Rocket following behind. "Alright, look, I could care less whether you live or you die," he began.

"Then why stop the big guy?" Gamora asked.

"Simple," he shrugged, "You know where to sell my Orb."

"And what makes you think we're going to share that information with you?" Hermione challenged.

"Well, _Obi-Wan_ ," Quill replied testily, "Firstly, it's _my_ Orb so you've got to have me with you to sell it. And b, I have a ship that's not from Ronan's fleet so he won't be able to track it."

Hermione shook her head and turned to Gamora. "This is a waste of time. There's no reason for us to stay here; let's just go."

"And how are you going to do that, _Princess Leia_?" Quill asked mockingly while Rocket watched on with interest. "Do your little mind trick on every guard in the prison?" He paused. "Wait. Can you actually do that?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," she denied.

"Well, lucky for you guys, I _do_ know how to bust us out of here," Rocket claimed confidently.

"Oh, great," Gamora muttered. "Now you're coming too?"

"I'm not letting Granger out of my sight until I get her to Asgard," he explained. "And that's where we're going first – you can worry about your Orb later. You guys seem to attract trouble and I'm not about to let ten million units slip through my fingers."

"How much was your buyer offering for my Orb?" Quill asked. "If it's more than ten million I say we split that and then you can leave Granger alone without netting a loss."

The two women looked at each other. They both knew that they could leave the prison by themselves. Sharing the buyer's offer wasn't an issue– it was a ridiculous sum of money, but having company would be a nuisance and the individuals involved were hardly trustworthy company.

"And what happens to us if we're still here when Ronan arrives?" Quill asked pointedly, sensing their doubts. "Word is he's not the type of guy to throw us a picnic."

Hermione sighed. Quill was right; they couldn't leave them here to face Ronan's wrath – they would almost certainly be killed. She wasn't about to sentence anybody to that sort of fate.

"Fine," she agreed. "The four of us can split the units."

"I am Groot," a voice rumbled and Groot appeared from the darkness.

"Five of us," Rocket corrected with wry amusement as he looked at his companion. "Asleep for the danger, awake for the money, as per frickin' usual."

"All right!" Quill said, looking pleased. "See how much _easier_ everything is when we work together?"

Rocket threw him a condescending look before turning back to Hermione and Gamora and crossing his arms. "Come on, then. How much is that Orb worth? I ain't sharing my plan until I know what I'm getting in return."

"Four billion units," Gamora admitted quietly.

" _What?!_ " Rocket yelped.

" _Holy shit_ ," Quill swore looking stunned then he turned to Hermione. "No offence, Granger, but you're not the most beautiful thing in the world anymore."

Hermione ignored him. "Let's hear your plan," she said to Rocket. If it wasn't too crazy or dangerous, she'd let him free them. She may be willing to form a temporary alliance with Rocket, Groot and Quill but she would rather keep her magic to herself if she could.

"You want to hear it _now?_ " he asked.

"Yes," she answered shortly. "Is that a problem? You do have a plan, don't you? That wasn't just talk?"

"Don't insult my intelligence, Granger," he replied lowly. "Look, as plans go, it's relatively simple. If we're gonna get out of here, we're gonna need to get into that watchtower," he said pointing to the relatively small, enclosed structure that stood in the centre of the prison. "And to do that I'm gonna need a few things. The guards wear security bands to control their ins and outs. I need one."

"Leave it to me," Gamora responded.

"There's a prisoner in here with a prosthetic leg. I need that too."

"His _leg_?" Quill questioned.

"Yeah," Rocket shrugged. "God knows I don't need the rest of him."

"All right," Quill relented.

"And finally, on the wall of the watchtower there's a blinky yellow light. Do you see it?" Rocket pointed to the tower that was just along from them and Hermione could see the light he was talking about. "There's a quarnyx battery behind it. Purplish box, green wires. To get into that watchtower, I definitely need it."

"How are we supposed to do that?" Quill scoffed, "It's twenty feet up in the air, in the middle of the most heavily guarded area of the prison. It's impossible to get up there without being seen!"

"I got one plan and that plan requires a frickin' quarnyx battery so figure it out!" Rocket said angrily.

"Don't worry, I can get it," Hermione said, causing Quill to frown at her.

"Good, now can I get back to the plan?" Rocket asked sarcastically. "Now, this is important. Once the battery is removed, everything is gonna slam into emergency mode. Once we have it, we gotta move quickly, so you definitely need to get that last."

There was a whoosh-noise like something was powering down and then an alarm blared around them with a series of warning pulses from the lights. They looked around in surprise and only then saw that Groot had made his way over to the watch tower and stretched his arms out to retrieve the battery without any of them noticing. As the red lights flashed around them, Groot innocently held the device out towards Rocket.

"I meant later, you idiot!" Rocket yelled.

"I'll find the leg, you get the armband," Quill suggested to Gamora as a number of security devices flew into the enclosure and surrounded Groot.

"Prisoner, drop the device immediately and retreat to your cell, or we will open fire," a guard's voice warned from the watchtower.

Quill made to move away but Hermione grabbed him. "New plan," she instructed. "You guys stay here, stay low and let me handle this." As she didn't fancy their chances of emerging from this fiasco unscathed, it seemed she would be revealing her magic after all. She didn't mind too much – she had these gifts and it was time to use them, not hide who she really was!

The security bots were circling Groot slowly, their spotlights honing in on his form as he yelled his defiance, "I AM GROOT!"

"Granger, what the hell are you – " Quill began but the guard called out for the devices to fire and Hermione waved her hand at them. Most of the devices instantly fell to the ground with bright sparks as she blew their systems and the remaining ones she banished to smash into the walls of the compound before a shot could be fired.

" _Are you shitting me?!_ " Quill gasped behind her as armed guards rushed into the enclosure. "You're a _frickin' Jedi_!"

"Will you _stop_ with the 'Star Wars' references!" she complained, frowning at him. "I'm a _witch_."

* * *

A/N I saw Rogue One yesterday so it only felt right that I post this chapter!

Enjoy the festive season and fingers crossed we all have a great 2017.

Lots of love,

Lil Drop of Magic


	6. Chapter 6

Happy New Year!

I had lots of lovely responses to the last chapter so thank you very much. I'm glad that you enjoyed all the Star Wars references :-) Of course, that chapter was published before the death of the wonderful Carrie Fisher - an inspiring, honest, kick-ass woman if ever there was one. This chapter is for you, Carrie!

* * *

" _Do you see the bright star over there?" Hermione asked, pointing to show Steve where to look. He turned his head slightly, his chin brushing the top of her head as she lay on his shoulder._

" _Which one?"_

 _She reached for his hand and moved it to point at the star she was talking about. "There. That's Vega. It's the brightest star of the Lyra constellation." With her other hand she reached for her wand and drew thin, silver lines in the sky to outline Lyra. "Vega is the fifth brightest star in the night sky and the second brightest in the northern celestial hemisphere after Arcturus." She pointed back to the lines she'd drawn to show the Bo_ _ö_ _tes constellation, which contained Arcturus._

 _At Steve's silence, Hermione felt a twinge of concern and she pushed down on his chest to sit up and look at him. "I'm not boring you, am I?"_

 _He looked at her in surprise. "No, of course not, I'm just taking it all in. My only previous knowledge of stars was using them as references during night missions. I've never really just laid back and looked at them – not like this. It's beautiful."_

 _Hermione lay back down, comforted by his answer. She'd spent many an evening stargazing during her time at Hogwarts but that had been necessary for her Astronomy lessons. When she'd been making copious notes and charts and being the diligent student in the normally chilly environment, the beauty had been lost on her, too. But here, in the middle of a large clearing somewhere in upstate New York, Hermione felt a sense of wonder and awe far more powerful than anything Professor Sinistra had been able to instil in her._

 _However, there was also a newfound sense of unease. It had only been about four months since aliens from the other end of space had poured through a portal in the sky. When she gazed at the stars now, she wondered what other threats lay amongst them._

" _I wonder which direction Asgard is," Steve murmured, his mind treading a similar, though less dark, path to hers._

" _The map Thor drew of Yggdrasil and the Nine Realms for Jane Foster doesn't match up with any of the star systems and constellations we know," Hermione replied. "So I haven't got the faintest idea. Maybe he'll invite us round for tea one day!"_

 _Steve laughed. "Sure, why not. I'm sure they serve good tea there."_

" _They've had a lot of time to perfect it," she pointed out with a grin and then she sighed. "It's supposed to be breathtakingly beautiful. I'd love to see it. Wouldn't you?"_

" _I suppose," he replied. "But, to be honest, I'm still getting to grips again with life on_ this _planet. I'm not sure I'm ready to find out about all these other alien worlds." He paused. "_ You _are though; I can practically feel your mind wondering about all the answers you don't know yet."_

 _Hermione smiled to herself. Steve's tone wasn't mocking or teasing like it would have been if any of her other friends were talking to her, it was just accepting that that was who she was. "Imagine what's out there," she whispered, "What incredible things there would be! And before you say anything, yes, I know, all sorts of dangers could lurk out there too…"_

* * *

Quill put up his hand. "OK, can we maybe take a minute to talk about what the hell just happened?" His ship, the _Milano_ , was currently speeding away from the Kyln before the Nova Corps could track onto it.

No more than five minutes ago, he had been standing in the prison enclosure, watching Granger take down the security bots and prison guards with nothing more than a few waves of her hand. If that wasn't freaky enough, she'd then grabbed a hold of them all (including Drax, who insisted he join with them) and, well, _teleported_ them to impound so they could retrieve their things. When Quill had discovered that his cassette player was still missing, he had intended to seek out the blue bastard that had stolen it – there was no way that he was leaving without it. However, before he had taken two steps, Granger had put a hand on his chest, disappeared and then re-appeared a few seconds later, player in hand.

"Where's your ship?" she'd asked and he pointed mutely, somewhat at a loss for words, which had never happened to him before. "OK. Everyone ready?" She didn't particularly wait for objections before repeating the teleportation so that they were suddenly aboard the _Milano_. "Get us out of here," she'd instructed and his brain was just able to function enough to agree that was a good idea. "Which button do I press to communicate with the Kyln?" she'd asked, "We need to warn them about Ronan."

"I'll do it," Gamora replied taking the co-pilot's seat. Normally, Quill hated people operating his ship without permission but today _wasn't_ a normal day.

Gamora was acting as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened but when Quill looked back at Rocket, Groot and Drax, he was relieved to see that he wasn't the only one who was in a state of shock, which was why he raised his question.

Granger looked at him. "I told you; I'm a witch," she said simply, as though that should be all the answer he'd need.

"My turn," Rocket said, arms crossed. "Why the hell didn't we go for _your_ plan in the first place? Why did you even let yourself be arrested?"

"Sometimes it's better that my magic is kept a secret – it can tend to unsettle people and raise a lot of difficulties," she replied.

"I am Groot."

"Yeah, the ten million makes a lot more sense now to me too," Rocket muttered, apparently agreeing with Groot.

"I am impressed with your capabilities," Drax announced to Granger, "You shall make a keen ally in the battle against Ronan."

Gamora looked at Drax scathingly. "My question: why is this one here?" she asked, nodding at Drax.

"We promised him he could stay by your side until he kills your boss," Quill reminded her. "I always keep my promises when they're to muscle-bound whack-jobs who'll kill me if I don't." Gamora still didn't look pleased but Quill didn't really care – he was more interested in the living, breathing witch stood next to him.

"Your magic doesn't rely on the Force, does it?" he asked, "Because it looked kinda like – " He was abruptly forced to stop speaking because his airwaves became restricted as Granger held out her fingers towards him.

"I told you to _stop it_ ," she warned lowly as he grasped at his throat. She relaxed her fingers and he sucked in a huge breath.

" _Satan's balls_ ," he cursed breathlessly as his throat burned. "That was the _coolest_ and _scariest_ thing that's ever happened to me, Darth Granger." She tried to look threatening but an exasperated smile pulled at her lips. The others were looking at them in confusion. "Inside joke," he explained weakly.

Rocket shook his head disdainfully, "Humans."

"Look, I know that my abilities have come as surprise to you," Granger said, "But that doesn't change the plan."

"I can't believe that I wasted my time coming up with that quarnyx battery scheme," Rocket muttered. "It might not have been on the same level as magic but it was still awesome."

"What were you going to use the leg for?" Quill asked, his interest piqued.

"The leg? Oh, that was just a joke, I only needed the battery and the security band," Rocket revealed.

" _What?!_ " Quill exclaimed.

"Can you imagine how funny that would have been?" Rocket sniggered.

" _Rodents_ ," Gamora mocked and Rocket scowled at her.

"I recognise this animal," Drax said, pointing at Rocket. "We'd roast them over a flame pit as children. Their flesh was quite delicious."

"Hey, back off, buddy," Rocket said, baring his teeth.

"I am not your buddy," Drax denied. "We are momentary allies in my crusade against Ronan."

"OK, cool it, talking Thesaurus," Quill said, holding out a placating hand.

"Do not call me a thesaurus," Drax warned lowly.

"It's just a metaphor," Quill defended.

"His people are completely literal," Rocket explained. "Metaphors are going to go completely over his head."

"Nothing goes over my head," Drax claimed proudly. "My reflexes are too fast; I would catch it."

Gamora glanced at Granger. "This would have been _so_ much easier on our own."

A little while later, Quill found Granger looking at the orange-haired troll doll he'd had with him when Yondu and the ravagers had abducted him from Earth.

"Be careful with that, it's one of my most prized possessions," he said and she looked at him suspiciously. "No word of a lie!" he insisted.

"All right," she accepted with a small smile. "If I had anything from home, I'd never get rid of it either."

"You don't have _anything_?" he questioned.

"Nothing but my memories," she said sadly, the pain obvious in her voice. Quill wanted to look away but found that he couldn't. She fondly ran her fingers through the troll's hair. "I never expected to see anyone else from Earth," she admitted.

"Well, I didn't expect to meet anyone like you – definitely not from Earth, anyway. Are there lots like you from there?"

"There _were_ ," she said pointedly.

"Shit, sorry, I haven't quite gotten my head around it yet," he confessed. When he'd heard about Earth's destruction, he was furious. Sure, he didn't live there anymore and he'd thought about his home planet less and less over the years, but that didn't mean whack-jobs could just go about blowing it up. He surely would've had friends and family still living there when it had happened and the idea that it was all gone just didn't make sense in his brain.

"I'll never get my head round it," Granger said quietly, putting the troll back down.

A clattering noise caught his attention and he turned, seeing Rocket ravaging for parts in his ship. "Woah, woah, woah," he called angrily, walking over to the raccoon. "Yo, Ranger Rick! What are you doing?! You can't take this ship apart without asking me!" He pointed to some contraption Rocket had made with bit parts. "See, what is this?"

"Don't touch that," Rocket warned, "It's a bomb."

"A _bomb_?!" he repeated incredulously.

"Yep."

"And you leave it _lying_ _around_?!"

"I was gonna put it in a box," Rocket argued calmly.

"What's a box going to do?!" Quill pointed out.

Rocket pulled out a container and picked up a small wrapped box that Quill had been avoiding for twenty-six years. "How about this one?"

"No! Hey, leave it alone," Quill said quickly, using his foot to force Rocket to put the box down and slide the container back.

"Why? What is it?" Rocket asked.

" _Shut up,_ " Quill responded forcefully, not at all keen on sharing that his mother had given the present to him the day she died. "What's that?" he asked, pointing to another contraption that Rocket had made.

"That's for if things get really hardcore," Rocket murmured, "Or if you wanna blow up moons."

"No one's blowing up moons," Gamora called from across the room.

"You just wanna suck the joy out of everything," Rocket muttered as he resumed his work.

Quill walked over to Gamora. "So, listen, I'm gonna need your buyer's coordinates."

"We're heading in the right direction," she replied smoothly, picking up the Orb that he'd placed on the central table for safekeeping, "For now."

"If we're gonna work together, you might want to try trusting me a little bit," he suggested.

"And how much do you trust me?" Gamora countered.

Quill took the Orb from her. "I'd trust you a lot more if you told me what this was because I'm guessing it's some sort of weapon."

"We don't know what it is," Granger said, joining them around the table as Drax snatched up the Orb.

"If it's a weapon, we should use it against Ronan," he proposed lowly.

"Put it down, you fool, you'll destroy us all!" Gamora snarled.

"Or just you, murderess!" he retorted savagely.

"I let you live _once_ , princess!" Gamora threatened, moving forwards to square right up to Drax.

"I am not a princess!"

"Both of you calm down before I make you," Granger warned coolly and nobody was in any doubt that this was entirely possible.

"Yeah, _nobody_ is killing _anybody_ on my ship," Quill declared. "Look, we're stuck together until we get the money."

"I have no interest in money," Drax scoffed. He threw the Orb back to Quill and then walked off, presumably to cool down.

"Great," Quill muttered, "That means more money for the four of us." Groot let out a noise of protest. "The five of us," Quill corrected. "Partners."

"We have an agreement but I would never be partners with the likes of you," Gamora replied. "I'll tell the buyer we're on our way. Oh, and Quill, your ship is _filthy_." She ascended the steps to the cockpit and Quill admired the view as she did so.

"Oh, she has no idea," he said quietly to the others. "If I had a black light, the place would look like a Jackson Pollack painting."

"You got issues, Quill," Rocket muttered.

"Are the Earth references purely for my benefit or would you be making them anyway?" Granger asked.

"Gotta keep our culture alive, right?" he replied easily. He paused and his tone became more serious. "You and I have a major responsibility seeing as we're probably the last two left. You know, some might even say we ought to – "

"If you say you and I should procreate to preserve our race, I will perform a spell on you which will make that entirely impossible," she warned, raising her fingers threateningly.

"Hey, woah," he objected, "Before you give me the magical snip, that _wasn't_ what I was going to say." She gave him a disbelieving look. "Man, lighten up, Granger, we're about to become mega-rich!"

"My happiness is not determined by the number of credits I own," she replied.

"No? What are you going to do with your share, then?" Quill asked.

"I plan to stop Thanos," she said simply.

Rocket sniggered, "I didn't realise you and Drax were related!"

"I know it's a long shot," she admitted, ignoring the raccoon, "But the possibility of bringing an end to his terrorism is the only thing that's kept me alive these last few months."

"Good luck with that," Rocket muttered, resuming his tinkering.

Quill frowned at her. Sure, she had mind-bending capabilities and she mostly carried herself with confidence, but there was undoubtedly a vulnerability to Granger that he felt pulled towards. Their shared background was definitely a factor (it was nice that there was someone who finally understood his jokes) and he was aware that he was majorly attracted to her (but that was a pretty common occurrence when it came to women) and he didn't like that she'd seemingly gone through a lot of shit.

"He destroyed our planet and has promised to do the same to Xandar if Ronan gives him the Orb," she said sombrely as she gazed at Quill. "He _has_ to be stopped."

Quill scratched the back of his head, uncomfortable with her expectant stare. Somehow, she was making him feel guilty about not wanting to take part in a suicidal mission to stop one of the most dangerous beings in the galaxy. "Well, the thing is, I'm actually quite fond of being alive," he began and she raised her eyebrows.

"Oh, that wasn't a plea for your help," she said, sounding surprised that he would even think that. "I wouldn't really expect that of you."

"Oh, OK," he murmured, frowning again. Strangely, he actually felt even _worse_ that she thought he was such a piece of shit that he didn't care about Thanos murdering billions of people.

He watched as she climbed up to join Gamora in the cockpit and he was too lost in a rare moment of self-reflection to even take note of her shapely ass.

Quill spent the rest of the journey torn between his odd desires to be both near Granger and away from her. The conflicting emotions greatly confused him.

When Rocket yelled out that they were inbound, they all moved to the front of the ship to gaze in awe at where Gamora's coordinates had led them.

"Woah," Quill breathed, his eyes trying to determine exactly what the massive structure was amidst the yellowish nebula that surrounded it.

"What is it?" Drax asked.

"It's called Knowhere," Gamora explained, "The severed head of an ancient Celestial being."

"Oh, Steve," he heard Granger whisper softly as she stared, entranced, at the head. "I wish you could see this…"

* * *

A/N OK, I know this chapter was short but my guilt over that probably just means there'll be a quicker update of the next one! Hooray!

Lots of love,

Lil Drop of Magic


	7. Chapter 7

A/N Hi everybody! That wasn't too long a wait, was it? Thanks for all your continued support!

* * *

" _Woah, geez, what the hell have I just walked in on?" Tony spluttered, looking aghast at Steve and Hermione. "I thought this was a training room."_

" _We_ are _training," Steve pointed out._

" _You were_ dancing _," Tony corrected._

" _Brilliant observation," Hermione muttered, walking over to take a swig of water. "You really are a genius."_

" _Sarcasm doesn't suit you," Tony retorted. "Leave it to the pros, twinkletoes."_

" _What do you want, Tony?" Steve asked impatiently._

" _Hey, cool it, Ginger," he said, holding his palms up. "I only came to ask if you guys wanted to come out to dinner with me and Pepper later."_

" _Sure," Hermione shrugged, "We're nearly done here. Take it from the beginning?" she asked Steve and he nodded._

" _The half Park Avenue into Promenade worked a lot better that time," he commented as he took Hermione's hand into his and placed his hand on her back._

 _Hermione looked over at Tony, surprised that he was still there. "Are you staying to watch?"_

" _While I do find this slightly disturbing," he commented, indicating the two of them, "I can't pass up the opportunity to mock you about it afterwards."_

 _Steve relaxed his hold. "Am I supposed to be embarrassed about dancing with my fiancée?" Tony sent him a look that suggested that the answer to that question was very obvious. "Well, I'm not. Dancing with a beautiful woman without tripping over my own feet wasn't exactly an option when I was growing up. I'm making up for lost time."_

" _Maybe it wouldn't look so lame if you tried a style of dance a bit more this century and a bit less_ Dancing with the Stars," Tony suggested _._

" _It's a lot more difficult than it looks," Hermione defended. "You have to be so disciplined and precise;_ you _wouldn't be able to do it."_

" _I don't_ want _to be able to do it," he countered, crossing his arms over his chest as he leant against the wall._

" _It's one of our favourite things to do together," Steve said, "working together as one."_

" _Pepper and I have others ways to be as one," Tony pointed out, "and I daresay our way is decidedly more satisfying."_

" _Suit yourself," Hermione shrugged, straightening her back and going into a proper hold._

 _They began to dance; their gliding, sweeping movements taking them all across the room and their intricate footwork and spins gracefully performed under Tony's bewildered scrutiny._

 _There was a gasp next to him. "Oh, wow," Pepper muttered, her eyes widening as Steve gently lifted Hermione in a spin. "Don't they look beautiful, Tony? They must be practicing for their wedding! I'd_ love _for us to be able to dance together like that."_

 _Tony tried his best to ignore the amused expressions on Steve and Hermione's faces as they danced past._

* * *

Hermione stood against the wall of the bar at a spot where she could keep an eye on the majority of the establishment's patrons. Knowhere was an illegal mining community dealing in substances that made big money on the black market. Given its lack of rules and regulations, Knowhere was something of a safe haven for outlaws and other unsavoury people.

They were waiting in the bar for the buyer's representative to retrieve them. It felt to her like they'd already been waiting for hours and she hoped it wouldn't be much longer because she could see that Rocket and Drax were already quite drunk as they watched a rather barbaric series of animal fights.

Quill strolled casually towards her and finished with a spin on his heels. "Come on," he said, beckoning for her to join him. "Show me what dance styles I've missed. I bet Michael Jackson has brought out some awesome moves." He punctuated this declaration with a classic Michael Jackson leg kick.

Hermione raised her eyebrows at his enthusiasm. "Michael Jackson's dead."

"Well, _yeah_ , everyone is," Quill pointed out.

"No, _before that_ ," she clarified. "He overdosed on medication a few years ago."

Quill's shoulders slumped. "Aw, _man_! That _sucks_ ," he muttered. "I mean, I knew he was dead anyway but that just makes it sadder."

"Sorry," Hermione muttered, frowning at the cheers that, no doubt, greeted another animal's grisly death.

"So, come on," Quill said brightly, trying to cheer himself up, "Music, dance moves, what have I missed? The Running Man is still popular, right?" He demonstrated his skill at the move for her, sliding his feet back along the floor and pumping his arms.

"Sure," she agreed, not wanting to disappoint him.

"Come on, do it," he urged grinning. "You know you want to!" Hermione _didn't_ want to. "Or are you scared I'm going to show you up?" he challenged.

"How about I show you something new instead," she offered. "This was huge a couple of years ago," she told him.

Quill stopped and watched her curiously. "You look like you're riding a horse," he said, beginning to copy her moves.

"Yep," she answered, feeling utterly ridiculous as she went on to a lasso-like move. "It's called Gangnam Style."

Quill nodded as he started to pick up her moves. "I like it, it's kinda weird, but fun." Hermione laughed as he got fully into it and jumped around, circling his arm. He grinned. "You got anything a bit cooler?"

Hermione thanked her rare blowing-off-steam nights with Natasha for educating her on a few of the other dance trends. She showed him how to twist his hand from Single Ladies and taught him how to Dougie. For the first time in what felt like an _age,_ she forgot where she was and just had _fun._ Her cheeks actually hurt from smiling so much and it felt amazing.

Quill held up his hand and she high fived him. "Dancing is awesome," he stated happily.

"Thank you," she said earnestly. "I didn't realise how much I miss it."

"Did you do it a lot?" he asked, doing a little heel and toe as they talked.

"Not that sort, no," she replied. "But I danced more traditional styles with my fiancé."

"Steve?" he asked. Hermione gaped at him in astonishment. "You mentioned his name earlier," he explained. "I don't think you realised you were talking out loud."

"Oh," Hermione murmured, her heart thumping painfully in her chest. "Yes, Steve was my fiancé." She stared at her left hand. "When I woke up after being abducted, I didn't have my ring. I don't know what happened to it." She could feel her throat constricting with emotion as she stared at her bare finger. She steeled herself; crying wasn't going to help her now. The only use for this hurt was as a driving force to stop Thanos. She glanced up at Quill and he looked very uncomfortable until he saw that her face was sans tears. "I was taken less than an hour before we were to get married," she told him, her voice strong now. "I was already in my dress."

"Shit," Quill murmured. "Thanos really screwed you over."

Hermione smiled humourlessly. "At least I have my memories, you know, I actually _had_ a life," she reasoned, "I had the best family and friends that anyone could ever wish for. I've come to the realisation of how truly blessed I was to have experienced that because Gamora…" She paused and looked out to the balcony where her sister was staring out into Knowhere's atmosphere. Gamora had been taken by Thanos at a very young age, her parents and every other member of her race murdered before her, and had barely experienced any love or kindness since. When she compared her formative years to Gamora's upbringing, Hermione truly did feel fortunate.

"What?" Quill pressed.

Hermione looked back to him and shook her head. "It's not my place to say."

Quill turned towards Gamora too with a contemplative expression on his face. Despite his jokes and cocky, space-rogue demeanour, Hermione had sussed Quill out quickly. He had a big heart but he didn't want to show it. He was a bit of a loose cannon but she needed everyone she could if she was to take on Thanos and she had a feeling that eventually he'd come to her side.

"I've dampened the mood," she commented with a frown.

Quill chuckled. "Yeah, well, that's pretty easy to do given the company we're in. Come on, let's dance some more instead."

Hermione nodded, a small smile coming easily to her face. "Sure, I'd like to see a few more of your retro moves."

Quill looked at her with a pained expression. " _Retro?_ That's just a polite way of calling me old." Hermione chuckled then laughed even harder as he started to dance with great enthusiasm – defying her unintentional implication about his age.

He reached out for her hand and spun her under his arm. As soon as she'd completed her spin, he snatched his hand away as though he'd been electrocuted. Hermione looked at him in surprise.

"What the hell was that?" Quill asked, eyes wide.

"What are you talking about?" she replied puzzled.

"David Bowie," he breathed, still staring at her, "Let's Dance."

Hermione felt a chill sweep down her spine. "What do you mean?"

"When I held your hand, I heard it as clear as if it was playing on my Walkman," he said.

Her eyes widened in alarm. "That song just popped into my head," she said quietly, "because we were talking about the eighties and dancing."

"You didn't know you could make someone else hear it?" he asked but she shook her head. "Huh," he breathed, looking impressed. "That's a little freaky that you don't really know all of your powers… But it's also frickin' awesome!" He grabbed her hand. "Do it again! I haven't heard that song in forever."

"I, um, I'll try," she stammered, still rather taken aback by the newly-discovered ability to transmit music from her mind into somebody else's. She replayed the beginning of the song in her head and watched in fascination as Quill bobbed his head and tapped his fingers in time with the opening bars. He laced his fingers through hers to have a more secure connection as he continued to groove to the music, grinning at her avidly.

" _Let's dance_!" he chorused, perfectly in time with David Bowie. It was a very peculiar sensation.

"Yeah, it's _totally_ weird," Quill agreed and Hermione snatched her hand back.

"You heard me think that too?" she asked, her mouth agape once more.

"Yep," he nodded, "Just as clear as the music. How come you didn't know you can speak into people's minds?"

"Thanos experimented on me to boost my powers," she explained. "I used to rely on a wand to perform most of my magic."

" _Cool_. I guess magic doesn't have many restrictions."

"When it's fused to your body, apparently not," she murmured.

"I wonder if it only works when you're touching someone," Quill pondered. "Think a number in my direction and I'll try and hear it."

Hermione tried to project the number at him but they ended up just staring at each other for a few seconds. Quill's shoulders slumped a little and he held his palm out instead. She touched her hand to his and tried again.

"Three hundred and ninety-four," he said instantly and Hermione nodded. She wasn't particularly surprised that she hadn't discovered this new consequence of Thanos' tampering; she couldn't remember the last time that she'd had skin-on-skin physical contact with anyone…

She excused herself from Quill's company, citing a need to visit the restroom, and shut herself in one of the cubicles. She leant against the door, closing her eyes with a deep sigh, just needing a moment to come to terms with her latest ability. It was far from the worst consequence that could have occurred from Thanos' experiment but it was still an unwelcome one. Luckily, the amount of physical contact she had with others was extremely minimal but it would be wise to practice protecting her thoughts in case it would be needed in the future – she couldn't allow herself to have any weaknesses.

A wave of exhaustion swept over her and she slid to the floor to rest for just a moment, her knees tucked up against her chest.

The next thing she knew Gamora was calling her name. Hermione jolted from her slumber and sprang to her feet, annoyed with herself for not being alert.

"I'm here," she replied to Gamora's repeated calls. "What is it?"

"We're being taken to our contact," Gamora said. "Come on."

Hermione followed her to the main bar where the others were waiting next to a young woman with a very rigid posture. Noticing the woman's Krylorian race, Hermione had a hot flash of guilt as her brain automatically made a connection with little Jara.

"Please, follow me," the woman said, her voice sounding almost robotic given the lack of emotion.

"Are you all right?" Quill asked as she fell into step next to him.

"I'm fine," she replied. He didn't look convinced so she cast around for something to say to distract him and noticed that their party was one short. "Where's Drax?"

"He and Rocket had a drunken fight," Quill explained lowly. "Drax stormed off – he doesn't care about selling the Orb anyway."

It was almost a shame that the time had come to part ways. After working in near isolation for so long, it was nice to have some allies – even if they were a rather violent, chaotic, untrustworthy bunch.

Their destination was a large, dome-roofed building. Upon entering, Hermione felt the hairs rise on the back of her neck. The building seemed to mostly comprise of just one huge, dark room. But it wasn't this that unnerved her; throughout the space, numerous large glass containers lined the walls and hung from the ceiling, each one holding a different unusual creature. Many of the beings were still alive, staring listlessly at the group as they walked past.

"OK, this isn't creepy at all," Rocket muttered sarcastically.

"We house the galaxy's largest collection of fauna, relics, and species of all manner," their Krylorian guide informed them. There was so much to see, Hermione didn't really know where to look first. However, the sight of all of these creatures held in captivity had her quietly outraged. She gasped softly as she recognised one of the inhabitants as a member of the Chitauri – the alien race that had attempted to invade New York under Loki's command. The Chituari had haunted her dreams for many months after that day…

She realised that she had been left behind because the others were standing in the centre of the room and their guide held up her arms dramatically. "I present to you, Taneleer Tivan, the Collector."

Hermione watched from a distance as a fur-caped figure with a shock of white hair slowly turned around to face his guests. Over his eyes, he wore a pair of glasses that looked as though they were used to examine things more closely but he took these off as he regarded those who stood in front of him.

"Oh, my dear Gamora. How wonderful to meet in the flesh," he murmured, taking and kissing her hand.

"Let's bypass the formalities, Tivan," she replied. "We have what we discussed." However, the Collector's gaze had shifted to Groot.

"What is that thing there?" he asked slowly.

"I am Groot."

Tivan walked towards Groot, his eyes never straying from the object of his fascination. "I never thought I'd meet a Groot." He rose quickly onto his toes in an odd mark of respect. "Sir, you must allow me to pay you now so that I may own your carcass – at the moment of your death, of course."

"I am Groot," he replied good-naturedly.

"Why, so he could turn you into a frickin' chair?" Rocket scoffed.

"That's your pet?" Tivan asked Groot teasingly. Sensing Rocket was likely to explode, Hermione walked forwards to join the rest of the group.

" _His what?_ " Rocket snapped, reaching over his shoulder for his weapon as Tivan laughed.

"Rocket," Hermione said warningly. He glanced over his shoulder at her and grudgingly released his hold on the weapon.

"It cannot be," Tivan murmured slowly, now staring at her, forcing a chill up Hermione's spine. "I am honoured, my dear, to welcome the distinguished Sorceress to my humble residence." He bowed ostentatiously and the others looked at her with raised eyebrows. "I have heard many tales of your incredible feats," he gushed, taking her hand and kissing it. "I never dreamt that I would meet an Avenger, especially after what happened to Terra." His mood dimmed. "The fate of your planet was a great pity; there were many Terran items that I wished to add to my collection."

"How awful for you," Quill said sarcastically. Tivan spared him a cold glance before refocusing on Hermione.

"Your ally, Thor Odinson, has been seeking you for some time," he said to her. "His bounty notices have been sent to every corner of the galaxy."

"I have recently become aware," she replied, finding her voice after Tivan's surprising welcome. "I plan to contact him when we are done with our transaction. We've brought you what was promised."

"Very well, then," he said. "Let us see the Orb."

Quill retrieved the Orb and held it out to the Collector but it slipped from his fingers. He bent down quickly to pick it back up again and tried not to look too sheepish as Tivan reverently took it from him.

He carried the Orb over to a device that was sitting on a table behind them and the others joined him. Hermione paused at the sight of another former enemy enclosed in a container – a Dark Elf. The Elf was watching closely as Tivan slotted the Orb into the machine.

"Oh, my new friends," Tivan murmured deferentially, twisting a dial to start the device and regaining Hermione's attention. "Before creation began, there were six singularities." The machine started to twist the Orb, gradually unlocking the mechanism to reveal whatever lay inside. At the same time, small rays of purple light beamed out and created images in the air around them. "Then the universe exploded into existence and the remnants of these systems were forged into concentrated ingots: Infinity Stones." Hermione watched in quiet fascination as the images around them showed six different coloured stones. Then the images changed and Hermione was so surprised at what they showed that she stopped breathing for a moment: the Tesseract and the Aether, there was no mistaking them.

"These stones, it seems, can only be brandished by beings of extraordinary strength," Tivan continued and then indicated the images surrounding them. "Observe…"

A huge being was shown holding a glowing weapon that enclosed a purple Infinity Stone. Terrified people were running away from the gigantic creature but it simply thrust its weapon into the ground and a purple light burst forth, destroying everything in its path. "These carriers can use the Stone to mow down entire civilizations like wheat in a field," Tivan explained as the pictures showed a whole planet be consumed with the purple energy.

Hermione was so horrified by what she saw that she didn't even hear Quill's unhelpful comment, "There's a little pee coming out of me right now."

"Once, for a moment, a group was able to share the energy amongst themselves," Tivan said as the projections showed a shadowy circle of individuals linked together by a faint purple light. Then the light swelled and the figures writhed and burst into flames. "But even they were quickly destroyed by it."

The machine finally managed to fully unlock the Orb and the purple Infinity Stone was revealed, glowing innocently as it floated before them. Tivan visibly shook with excitement at the sight of it. "Beautiful," he breathed. "Beyond compare."

Hermione could feel the pure energy it contained. It was truly mesmerising.

"Blah, blah, blah," Rocket cut in, obviously not at all impressed by the ancient power two feet away from him. "We're all very _fascinated_ , whitey, but we'd like to get paid."

The projections around them faded away and Tivan became business-like once more. "How would you like to get paid?"

"What do you think, fancy man?" Rocket sneered, "Units!"

"Very well, then." Tivan moved over to another desk and Quill excitedly clapped Hermione on the back, breaking her concentration on the Stone.

"Tivan," she called, walking over to him, "The other Infinity Stones."

He raised his gaze to her with a knowing expression but then his eyes hardened as they glanced over her shoulder. "Carina," he warned lowly, "Stand back." Hermione turned to see that the Krylorian guide was stood next to the Stone.

"I will no longer be your slave!" she cried as she grabbed the Stone.

Instantly, bursts of purple fire erupted from the Stone and Hermione threw up a shield to protect them. "Run!" she ordered as an inhuman scream erupted from Carina's lips. Groot scooped up Rocket with Gamora and Quill following behind. Hermione watched to make sure that her friends were safely away before she would make her own escape even though her shield was on the brink of collapse. She knew that she had no chance of containing the power of the Infinity Stone because it was just far too strong. She hoped that the various creatures in Tivan's containers would survive as there was nothing she could do for them now. Her shield splintered and she was knocked off her feet, coming to rest in a large hole in the floor's grating as purple flames surged above her.

The air became still but for the occasional pop and hiss as the Collector's museum dealt with the aftermath of the explosion. Hermione pulled herself out of the hole and, seeing no sign of Carina anywhere, ran towards the Stone, forcing the two halves on the Orb together to enclose it once again. She couldn't see amongst the wreckage what had happened to the creatures Tivan had collected but she wasn't about to leave the Orb here for them to take – an angry Chitauri or Dark Elf running amok with an all-powerful Infinity Stone was the last thing she needed.

"Yo, Granger!" Quill's voice called. "Are you OK?"

"I'm fine," she replied, carefully stepping over the debris to get to the exit where the others were waiting for her.

Gamora in particular looked quite shaken up about what had happened. "How could I think Tivan could contain whatever was within the Orb?" she said angrily.

Rocket looked aghast at the object that was still in Hermione's grasp. " _What do you still have it for_?!" he cried.

"We can't just leave it in there," Hermione explained.

"I can't believe you had _that_ in your purse!" Rocket said to Quill.

"It's not a purse, it's a knapsack," he denied.

"We have to bring it to the Nova Corps," Gamora suggested, "There's a chance they can contain it."

"Are you kidding me?" Rocket cried, "We're _wanted_ by the Nova Corps! Just give it to Ronan!"

"So he can destroy the galaxy?" Quill scoffed in disbelief.

"What are you, some saint all of a sudden?" Rocket accused, "What has the galaxy ever done for you? Why would you want to save it?"

"Because I'm one of the idiots who lives in it!" Quill retorted.

"We're _not_ giving the Orb to Ronan," Hermione stated firmly before turning to Gamora. "Do you really think Nova can contain it?"

She nodded. "I do."

Hermione looked at Quill and he nodded too. "Yeah, OK, I think you're right," he muttered. " _Or_ , we could give it to somebody who's _not_ going to arrest us, who's really nice, for a whole lot of money." Seeing the disbelieving looks on the women's faces at his suggestion they carry out the original transaction, he defended, "I think it's a really good balance between both points of view."

"You're still concerned about money!" Hermione cried.

"You're despicable. Dishonourable," Gamora muttered, shaking her head at Quill. "Faithless!"

"If you want a compromise, _fine,_ " Hermione spat. "We'll go to Asgard – they should be able to protect the Orb and then you can pick up the reward for rescuing me. I'm sorry that I'm not quite as valuable."

"I am Groot."

"Yeah, that's actually a good idea," Rocket agreed slowly but then his eyes narrowed at Quill. "We ain't sharing the money equally, though. I saw Granger first."

"Man, you are so selfish!" Quill accused.

"Enough!" Hermione snapped. "We'd better go before word reaches Ronan that we're here – we've hardly been inconspicuous."

At these words, a number of small space vehicles flew overheard and the sisters recognised them immediately as belonging to Ronan's fleet.

"Oh no," Gamora gasped as a figure not even ten yards away from them raised his huge arms in victory.

"At last!" Drax cried, holding his blades ready. "I shall meet my foe and destroy him!"

"You called Ronan?!" Quill yelled disbelievingly.

"I can get us back to the Milano," Hermione said quickly, "but if we attempt to leave, we won't be able to evade his ships. We need to take all these Necrocraft out first."

"A few hours ago, I would have said that's impossible!" Quill claimed, eyeing up the many ships as they landed, "But with you, we might just have a chance."

"Quill!" another voice called and they turned to see a blue-skinned man leading a group of angry looking man in their direction. "Don't you move boy!" The men were obviously the Ravagers that Quill had betrayed when he'd first acquired the Orb.

Hermione gave the Orb to Gamora. "Go – I'll keep the Necrocraft busy." Gamora nodded and ran off towards some small mining aircrafts that were parked behind them with Quill and Rocket in tow. Hermione sent a few harmless bursts of light in the direction of the Ravagers to give Quill more time to evade them.

Ronan had disembarked from his vessel and was striding menacingly towards Drax. "You are the one that transmitted the message?"

"You killed my wife," Drax responded angrily. "You killed my daughter!"

Hermione didn't wait around to bear witness to the rest of his speech because she could see Nebula staring over at her with an expression of purest loathing (not that that was anything new). She disapparated to reappear amidst the hovering necrocraft and started blasting them with different hexes and jinxes. The spacecrafts were so close together that it was impossible for them to turn to fire on her without them hitting one of their other ships. Within seconds, at least half a dozen vessels were nothing more than blazing wrecks on the ground.

The rest of the ships started to rise and she saw that they were beginning to chase after the three mining vessels that surely held her friends. Hermione flew after them, continuing to take out the Necrocraft in the incredibly high speed chase. She was flying as fast as she could but she couldn't close this distance to Gamora who was under heavy fire from a number of Necrocraft. They were getting closer and closer to the limits of the safe atmosphere of Knowhere. All of a sudden, Hermione realised that she couldn't breathe. Panicked, she saw Gamora break out into the space beyond Knowhere and she knew she was helpless to do anything out there.

Hermione apparated back to the entrance to the Collector's museum and sucked in a series of huge breaths. If she couldn't retrieve the Orb, she'd just have to stop Ronan himself. He was currently dragging Drax's limp body along the ground, seemingly unaware that she was right behind him. Hermione braced herself.

Ronan paused in front of an enormous tank filled with an unknown yellow liquid and began to lift Drax's body to throw him in. Hermione quickly summoned Drax out of Ronan's grip and his purple eyes focused on her immediately.

A searing pain lanced through her chest and she fell to her knees in shock. What was this? What had happened? Ronan strode imperiously towards her, a small metal device in his hand.

"Did you honestly expect your father to be so stupid?" his voice thundered into her. "To create such a powerful being and have no failsafe should you prove yourself a traitor?"

Hermione took in rapid shallow breaths, incensed with herself for believing that she had been free of Thanos' suspicion.

"The poison that has been released into your body has been hiding there since he first took you in on Sanctuary," Ronan continued. "When he heard the rumours of your deceit, he passed the device to release it onto me so that I could see for myself where your true loyalties lay and then I could deploy the poison if I saw fit. The old fool was so desperate to hold onto your power that he even gave me this." Through the pain that racked her body, Hermione saw him draw out a red vial from his robes. "Do you know what it is?"

She shook her head minutely.

"It is the cure for the poison," Ronan explained. "He wanted me to have it just in case you were not a vile betrayer and the poison was accidentally released into your system."

Hermione tried to use her magic to summon the vial to herself. It wiggled in Ronan's fingers but he tightened his grip and slapped her across the face.

"I am almost tempted to offer you a chance of redemption; to offer you life in return for loyal service. It would be a shame to waste your power, after all. But it is clear to me that you are too dangerous to live. I could never trust you."

A Necrocraft arrived above them and Hermione heard Nebula's voice say, "Ronan, it is done. I appear to have lost two sisters in a matter of minutes. How tragic."

Hermione wanted to make a stinging reply, to show her defiance until the end, but she couldn't even keep her eyes open.

"See you in hell, Hermione," Nebula promised.

* * *

A/N Hope you liked it!

Lots of love,

Lil Drop of Magic


	8. Chapter 8

AN: Hi guys! Thank you for all the ways you continue to support this series.

* * *

 _Coulson looked up from the ornately decorated, thick, cream card with a look of faint surprise. "Did you have this on you throughout the whole rescue attempt?"_

" _I've had it safely tucked away for a while now," Hermione admitted. "It's not like I can just post it to you when you live aboard an aeroplane, is it? I didn't know when I would have the chance so, although your kidnapping was a bad thing in many ways, at least I could finally give you your invitation to our wedding – it's only two months away, you know."_

" _God, I'm so happy for you," he murmured as he embraced her tightly. "It's nice to know that somebody in our world can still experience a shred of normality in their life. You really deserve it."_

 _As touched as she was by his words, Hermione's heart still ached. Although she respected Coulson's decision to focus on being a part of his new team, she dearly missed him as both a colleague and a friend. Their workload at S.H.I.E.L.D kept them apart for large chunks of time. She and Steve had to resort to video-calling Coulson a couple of months ago to even let him know they were engaged because it was so difficult to pin him down to one location that wasn't op-related._

" _Thank you," she replied warmly and drew back to look at him in the eye. "But we don't want you to feel under any pressure to reveal the fact that you're alive to anyone who still believes the opposite."_

 _Coulson nodded. "Thank you. Though I suppose now's as good a time to break that news as any – especially if it means I get to attend the wedding of two of my favourite people. Don't worry, I'll put the word out beforehand, I don't want to steal the attention on your special day."_

 _Hermione laughed. "How considerate of you. If anyone asks, you can still tell them that it was my magic that revived you."_

 _His expression became more troubled and she immediately wished she hadn't brought it up. "Thanks," he muttered._

" _Do - do you want to talk about it?" she offered. Not even an hour ago, Hermione had joined forces with Coulson's team to rescue him from abductors who had wanted to discover the truth behind his resurrection. Wanting to seek the answers for himself too, Coulson had subjected himself to a machine that uncovered memories that were buried in his subconscious. Under its influence, he had found that his time spent recuperating on Tahiti was just a false memory to cover up some sort of horrifying procedure he had undergone to be brought back to life._

" _I'm still processing it all to be honest," he replied. "I mean, I_ died. _I_ actually _died."_

" _You found memories of that?" Hermione gasped._

" _Of being dead?" He shook his head. "Not exactly. It's hard to explain. There were just snatches, fleeting images .I saw Fury and, and you. I heard you crying." Hermione gripped his hand tightly as they both struggled with the memories of his death. "Then I saw doctors and, whatever they were doing to me, I-I wanted to die. I begged them to let me die."_

 _Hermione hugged him tightly. "I'm so sorry," she whispered. "I'm so sorry that happened to you."_

" _But in between," he continued, "between the before and after, there was something else. It felt, I don't know, almost infinite…"_

* * *

 _Purplish, black shadows chased her every move. But where she was running_ from _or running_ to _, she had no idea._

 _A four-way fork appeared in the road ahead of her. She hesitated before choosing the left fork. The dark purple shadows circled around her, clawing her back to the fork. She tried each of the centre paths and then the right, but each time she was dragged back to make the choice again and now there were no other options left._

 _But there was…_

 _Hermione turned around to face the purple-tinged darkness head on and let it surround her as she accepted her fate…_

Hermione sat up with a start and then winced as her head hit something hard.

" _Shit_ ," another voice grumbled, "What the hell is your head made of Granger?"

Hermione blinked rapidly to clear her vision. Surprisingly, she saw she was back on the Milano with all her companions safely around her but, most surprising of all, she was _alive_. Had their time on Knowhere been nothing but a dream?

"What happened?" she asked.

"We lost the Orb," Gamora told her solemnly as she sat next to her on the bunk.

"And the only reason the Ravagers haven't killed me yet is because I promised them we'd team up to take it back," Quill added, still rubbing his head from where Hermione had bumped into him.

" _What_?" Rocket yelped from where he sat on the opposite bunk. "You didn't mention that! We're gonna rob the guys who just beat us senseless?!"

Quill turned on him. "Oh, you want to talk about senseless? How about trying to save us by blowing us up?" he asked angrily, motioning to himself and Gamora.

"We were only gonna blow you up if they didn't turn you over!" Rocket explained.

"And how on earth were they gonna turn us over when you only gave them a count of five?" Quill argued.

"Well, we didn't have time to work out the _minutiae_ of the plan," Rocket sneered before turning to Groot. "This is what we get for acting altruistically!"

"I am Groot."

"They _are_ ungrateful," Rocket agreed.

Hermione was barely paying attention to the conversation. She should be dead. Ronan had released a poison into her system, taunted her with the antidote and then left her to die. How was she still alive? She shuddered and gripped a fistful of the blanket that had been covering her as the same pain rippled through her body. She closed her eyes, waiting for the pain to subside. OK, so she just wasn't dead _yet._ For whatever reason, the poison wasn't quite as fast acting as Ronan thought it was but Hermione didn't doubt that it still killing her.

The conversation had paused and Hermione opened her eyes to find her friends watching her.

"I'm fine," she lied quickly, "I've just got a couple of aches and pains after my run in with Ronan."

Gamora didn't look convinced. "Right. Well, what's important now is we get the Ravagers' army to help us save Xandar."

"So we can give the Stone to Yondu who's just gonna sell it to somebody even worse?" Rocket scoffed.

Quill waved his hand dismissively. "We'll figure that part out later."

"Ronan _must_ be stopped," Hermione put in softly.

" _How_?" Rocket asked.

Quill and Gamora simply looked at Hermione and she tried to disguise the fact that her insides felt like they were on fire.

"Do you believe you can stop him?" Drax asked her.

"You don't get to ask questions after the nonsense you pulled on Knowhere," Gamora told him angrily.

"I just saved Quill!" Drax pointed out.

"We've already established that you destroying the ship that I'm on is not saving me," Quill responded.

"When did we establish it?" Drax asked.

"Like, three seconds ago!" Quill replied.

"I wasn't listening," Drax muttered, "I was thinking of something else."

Gamora scoffed in frustration and the lights on the ship flickered as Hermione concentrated on not passing out. The others glanced around for a moment but the lights steadied.

"She's right," Rocket said, frowning at Drax. "You don't get an opinion." He turned to Hermione. "Can you do it?"

Hermione nodded. "Yes. You just need to get me on board the Dark Aster."

The others visibly relaxed at her words.

"OK, good," Quill breathed, "because, to be honest, the plan lived and died with you. Yondu practically started drooling on the spot when I told him we had magic on our side. He's coming over in a few minutes to see your powers just to make sure I'm not pulling his leg."

Hermione carefully moved her legs over the edge of the bed. "I just need a minute," she mumbled, making to stand up. A more intense wave of pain shuddered through her body and she crumbled to the floor.

"What the hell?"

"Shit, are you OK, Granger?"

Voices clamoured around her head as hands pulled her back into a sitting position.

"I am Groot."

" _What do you mean she's dying_?!" Rocket yelped in alarm.

"Oh, shit."

"What are you talking about?"

"Hermione, open your eyes," Gamora instructed, lightly patting her cheeks.

Hermione acquiesced and looked blearily at Groot. "You heard me and Ronan talking, huh?"

"I am Groot," he answered sadly and Hermione sighed in defeat. It was better that they knew, really, it wouldn't be fair otherwise.

"Apparently Thanos had a poison implanted in me as a precaution in case I ever went rogue," Hermione explained, staring at her knees. "He gave the means to release it to Ronan, gave him permission to trigger it if I truly had defected." She paused as another tremor wracked her body.

"When were you going to tell us this?" Quill asked, his face a mixture of concern and frustration.

"I'm sorry," she murmured, "but there's not exactly an easy way to announce that a deadly poison has been released in your body."

"I am Groot."

"There's a cure?" Rocket said hopefully, responding to Groot's words.

"Yes," she said with a sharp intake of breath. "Ronan taunted me with a little red vial. But I don't hold any hope of finding it – the Dark Aster's far too big. And he'd have no reason to keep it because he thinks I'm dead; the poison should have killed me already. I can only assume my magic is slowing it down. I don't think I've got long…"

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Quill kick a chair forcefully across the room.

"Well, that's that then," Rocket muttered.

"What? Just like that you're going to give up?" Quill asked.

"Peter," Gamora began softly but he interrupted her.

"No, guys, come on. There's, there's still time. We just need a backup plan in case…" he glanced at Hermione.

"Are you crazy?" Rocket snapped. "You just said it yourself, the plan hinged on Granger. Yondu and the Ravagers won't help us if they know she could drop dead at any moment!"

"Have a little courtesy when you speak," Drax put in.

"Don't tell me what to do," Rocket snapped at him.

"You're going to let those people die?" Hermione asked him.

He bristled angrily. "What else can I do? We don't all have magical powers like you."

"You have your own strengths," she responded firmly, "Each and every one of you. If you combine them all, you can stop Ronan with or without me."

"Exactly," Quill agreed, pointing at her. He saw the reluctant, doubtful faces around him and then he sighed. "Guys, come on. We need your help. I look around at us, you know what I see? Losers." At the unimpressed faces, he elaborated, "I mean, like, folks who have _lost_ stuff. And we have. Man, we have. All of us. Our homes, our families, normal lives. And, usually, life takes more than it gives, but not today. Today, it's given us something. It has given us a chance."

"To do what?" Drax asked.

"To give a shit," Quill replied honestly, "For once. Not run away. I, for one, am _not_ gonna stand by and watch as Ronan wipes out billions of innocents lives."

"But, Quill, stopping Ronan without Granger, it's impossible," Rocket argued lowly. "You'd be asking us to die."

Quill sighed, looking over at Hermione's huddled figure. "If it comes to that, then, yeah, I guess I would," he admitted, sounding defeated and he turned away.

Hermione steeled herself and then shakily stood up, holding on to the bed post to support herself. "I'm not giving up," she said to them. "Not until my last breath."

Her legs began to tremble and Gamora stood to wrap her arm supportively around her sister's shoulders. "I have lived most my life surrounded by my enemies," she said softy. "I will be grateful to die among my friends and with my sister."

Hermione stumbled into an embrace with Gamora but pulled back at Drax's voice.

"Quill, Granger, you are both honourable representatives of your destroyed planet," he announced. "I will fight beside you. And, in the end, see my wife and daughter again."

Groot stood up next. "I am Groot."

They all turned to look at Rocket expectantly. He met all of their gazes and then sighed deeply. "Oh, what the hell. I don't got that long a lifespan anyway." He stood up on the bunk, frowning round at them. "Now _I'm_ standing. You all happy? We're all standing up now. Bunch of jackasses, standing in a circle."

With their heads and hearts all pulling in the same direction, they were able to come up with two feasible plans – only the first of which they decided to share with Yondu and the Ravagers. Hermione duly impressed their allies with a relatively simple display of magic so as not to drain her remaining energies and then watched in silence as Quill and Gamora relayed their plan.

Thankfully, Yondu's flagship was capable of incredible speed and it wouldn't take them long to reach Xandar. Hermione only hoped that they wouldn't be too late.

Before retiring back to the bunk to get some rest, she visited Yondu's communications room and sent a message to Rhomann Dey to warn him about Ronan's impeding attack. She told him about the Infinity Stone and how she and the others had joined forces with the Ravagers in an attempt to stop him but she also requested assistance from the Nova Corps too. She would've ended her message by admitting her true identity and origin in the hopes that it would add credibility to her story for whoever else needed to be convinced in the Nova Corps, but she only had time to send the message before a horrific surge of pain rendered her unconscious again.

Quill woke her as they came up on Xandar.

"I've been practicing my Gangbang Style," he told her, showing off his dance moves.

" _Gangnam_ Style," she corrected, her voice barely more than a whisper.

"Oh," he laughed, sitting beside her on the bunk. "I thought it was a bit of a controversial title." He looked at her sadly. "It sucks," he said, "the poison, I mean." Hermione opened her mouth to reply but he took her hand instead. "Just take it easy. We've got a douchebag to take care of, remember?"

 _Right. Well, hopefully I can get it done myself and then there'll be at least one person from Earth still alive. It's a shame you won't get the reward from Thor._

Quill shrugged. "It doesn't really seem that important anymore."

 _Maybe you could get something for my body from the Collector?_ she suggested _._

Quill wrinkled his nose. "Is that what you want? People to come and stare at your stuffed body?"

 _No, I suppose not._

"He seemed pretty taken with you though," Quill said. "What was all that Avengers stuff he was talking about?"

 _I was part of a group of somewhat gifted individuals who tried to protect the planet from different threats. We were called the Avengers._

" _Somewhat gifted_?" he repeated. "Is that you being weirdly modest or were they all as extraordinary as you?"

Hermione smiled. _They were amazing._

"But they didn't have magic like you?"

 _No. Magic was a secret. None of them knew apart from Steve._

"Your fiancé? He was an Avenger?"

 _I told you he was special too._

"Well, what was so special about him?"

 _Did you ever learn about Captain America in school?_

"Yeah! Wow, that's a blast from the past. That dude was one of my _heroes_ ," Quill admitted. "What was his name again?"

 _Steve…_

Quill cocked his head to the side, eyes wide. "Wait… Your fiancé was Captain America? That dude would've been like a hundred years old!"

 _His body was frozen when he crashed in the Arctic Circle during the Second World War. When he was discovered, he was still effectively twenty-six. It's not as weird as it sounds._

"Well, it sounds _very_ weird," Quill murmured. "I didn't realise you had a thing for older guys."

 _Very funny._

"Ronan's fleet has been spotted," a voice announced throughout the ship. "It will arrive in t-minus fifteen minutes."

Quill sighed. "I guess this is it."

Hermione let go of his hand and forced herself into a sitting position before wrapping her arms around him. "I'm glad I met you," she said quietly.

Quill tentatively embraced her back. "Yeah… you too."

He pulled away after a moment, muttering about making sure the ship was totally ready and left Hermione to her thoughts.

She'd come to term with the fact that the surest way to defeat Ronan was to cast the Killing spell but that didn't stop a hot wave of dread sweeping through her body. She'd never used the curse before, preferring to use any other spell that would effectively get the job done, but with Ronan in possession of the Infinity Stone he was much more powerful than normal. It was likely that she'd only have one opportunity to stop him and she had to do whatever was most likely to be successful. When it came to another tattered piece of her soul compared to billions of innocent lives, Hermione knew there was no other choice. She just hoped she could get it done before her body gave out.

Whenever she'd come close to death previously, things had been moving too quickly for her to really contemplate it. But, with Thanos' poison slowly destroying her life force, she couldn't avoid thinking about her fate this time. She was still cross with herself for believing that she'd managed to evade Thanos' retribution and that she'd utterly failed in her (admittedly optimistic) mission to put an end to his reign. Although she would also be furious with herself if she died before she could stop Ronan from destroying Xandar (partly because she felt responsible for the Orb falling into his hands), she also felt a sense of relief that it was nearly all over; that she could stop her never-ending battle. She wasn't sure if she believed in an afterlife, not when she'd seen a glimpse of the vastness of the universe, but she recalled what Coulson (the only person she knew who'd died and lived to tell the tale) had said about a sensation of something more, something _infinite_. The chance to be with her family and friends again was a hope too precious to even consider; so desperate was she for it to be true.

* * *

Everything started more or less according to plan. As soon as the Dark Aster was in range, Yondu released his Ravagers out in their M-ships with Quill, Gamora, Drax, Groot and Hermione aboard the Milano. Yondu fired two huge fire bombs at the Dark Aster which made contact with the ship's protective shield, flames spreading all along the defensive line. This provided the perfect cover for the fleet of M-ships to dive underneath the barrier and head straight for the ship itself. Rocket was piloting one of three other M-ships that sped towards the starboard hull of Ronan's ship to blast a hole that the Milano could enter through. However, the arrival of dozens of Ronan's Necrocraft made this highly difficult. Ronan's fleet of ships seemed endless as the Milano was forced to weave and fire just to stay airborne.

"There are too many of them!" Gamora cried as the Milano shuddered from receiving a hit from one of Ronan's ships. "We'll never make it up there."

Hermione looked calculatingly at the distance between them and the Dark Aster. They were high up in Xandar's atmosphere but Ronan's ship was low enough for her to be able to safely apparate straight onto the flight deck – something she couldn't do if they were in space. She's been hoping to avoid using her energy to undertake apparating a great distance but it seemed that would be the only way she was to get on board.

A flash of gold appeared on their right, quickly followed by one on their left and another directly in front of them – the ships of the Nova Corps were joining in the fight.

With the additional numbers, their progress to the Dark Aster was much more straightforward and they were soon careering through the hole that Rocket had helped blast in the ship's hull.

Drax whooped and screamed his delight as their momentum shot the Milano through the ship at high speed, Quill firing on Ronan's Sakaaran forces, until they eventually ground to a halt.

"We're just like Kevin Bacon!" Gamora exclaimed breathlessly, grinning at Quill.

"Kevin Bacon?" Hermione repeated, thinking she must have misheard.

"The great legend from Terra," Gamora explained. Hermione didn't quite know what Quill had been telling Gamora about Earth but there was no time to bring it up. Ronan would be aware that his ship had been boarded and would have sealed himself in the flight deck, therefore unwittingly preventing reinforcements re-entering to protect him from Hermione's attack. In case Hermione should fail, Groot, Drax and Quill were going to take the long route to the flight deck, taking care of all the Sakaarans they could on the way, while Gamora went below to override the flight deck doors. If Ronan was still alive when those doors opened, they would use Rocket's Hadron Enforcer weapon to blast him from existence.

Hermione unbuckled herself from her seat, her movements notably laboured. She swept her gaze over her friends one final time, disillusioned herself and then disapparated, not trusting herself to stay unemotional in a farewell.

Gamora turned at the popping noise and saw that Hermione's seat was empty. She felt a hurtful stab that her sister hadn't said goodbye and she felt Quill place his hand on her shoulder to comfort her.

"We must hurry," Gamora said, shrugging off his hand and heading for the exit.

They had no way of knowing whether Hermione had been successful so they had no other choice but to assume that she wasn't.

"I can barely see," Drax muttered as they made their way along the dimly lit decks of the Dark Aster.

Out of nowhere, tiny glowing lights appeared and Gamora turned to see dozens of them emerging from Groot's body.

"When did you learn to do that?" Drax asked in wonderment.

"I'm pretty sure the answer is 'I am Groot'," Quill replied.

Groot's strange lights made it much easier to see where they were going and Gamora picked up the pace. "The flight deck is three hundred metres this way," she told them, breaking into a jog.

"I want you all to know that I am grateful for your acceptance after my blunder," Drax announced calmly. "It is pleasing to once again have friends. You, Quill are my friend."

"Thanks," he replied awkwardly.

"This dumb tree," Drax continued, indicating Groot, "he is my friend." Groot hummed pleasantly in response. "And this green whore, she, too…"

Gamora reached the limit of her patience and she whirled around angrily. "Oh, you must stop!" she snapped.

There was an annoyed shout behind her and Gamora turned to see Nebula leap down to their deck, a look of fury on her face.

"Gamora, look at what you have done," she spat. "You have always been weak. You stupid, traitorous…"

Nebula was interrupted midsentence as she was unexpectedly blasted backwards. Gamora looked at Drax in surprise as the smoke emanated from his weapon.

"Nobody talks to my friends like that," he told her and, for the very first time, she actually felt some affection for the colossal man.

"Head to the flight deck," she instructed the others, "I'll shut down the power to the security doors." She didn't even look to see if they were following her orders as she headed to her destination but she could hear their footsteps as they headed in the opposite direction.

There was no sign of Nebula's body, which made Gamora nervous and, when she got down to the narrow walkway containing the power source, she saw she had good reason to be. The blast had propelled Nebula to the control room, her body a mess of grotesque angles. But, as Gamora approached, her body began to repair itself with a series of deep clicks. Nebula stood defiantly in front of the exact power source Gamora needed to destroy.

"Nebula, please," Gamora begged, holding up her empty palms to show that she didn't want to hurt her.

Nebula bared her teeth and launched a vicious attack with her electroshock blades. Gamora parried the blows with her arms and knocked her sister to the ground with an elbow to the back. She made a dart to the power source and pulled it out of its casing, but Nebula attacked again, one of her blades striking Gamora painfully on the arm. Gamora grunted and backed away but, as she did so, she caught a glimpse of something red encased in a choker around Nebula's throat. Gamora ducked quickly to avoid the swing of Nebula's blade, denying her the chance to get a closer look at the red object. _A little red vial,_ Hermione had said…

Nebula kicked her backwards and Gamora used the momentum to roll herself further away from her sister. She drew her own weapon, knowing that it was the only way that she was going to get back to the power source and possibly even the cure to Hermione's poison.

Gamora went on the offensive, her blade clashing with Nebula's as electricity fizzled in the air around them. Gamora swept a kick through Nebula's legs, making her fall to the floor and she made an unsuccessful grab for her sister's choker as she did so.

Nebula swiped at her with the shock blades, making Gamora jump back, and then pierced her sister with a calculating look. "She's still alive, isn't she?" Nebula spat. Gamora didn't reply but the truth was clear. "And to think I had actually been taking pleasure in wearing this knowing that it was the one thing that would have kept her alive."

Gamora watched cautiously as Nebula broke the choker off of her neck, the vial glinting ominously as it dangled from the leather band. "If you want it, go and get it," Nebula snarled, tossing the choker over the side of the platform.

Gamora only hesitated for a millisecond before leaping for the vial. With her free hand, she stretched her fingers to their limit, hoping to grab a hold of the falling choker. At the same time, she drew her other arm inwards and then thrust it to the side when she drew level with the edge of the platform. Her arm jarred painfully but her blade pierced into the walkway, leaving her dangling by her fingertips above the drop below. And pinched between her finger and thumb was the edge of the choker.

Nebula's blade shocked along her arm and Gamora nearly lost her grip as she screamed at the pain. She quickly stuffed the choker in her mouth and then tensed her arms around the handle of her blade, using her muscles to launch herself upwards and back onto the platform.

An explosion made them both stumble and Gamora saw that a hole had been blasted in the side of the ship not far from where they battled. If Ronan's ship was suffering such damage, that had to be a good thing, right?

Gamora replaced the vial into her pocket as Nebula advanced on her with a scream of rage. Gamora was weaponless and Nebula had morphed her blades into a single deadly spear. Gamora ducked under the first attack and grabbed hold of the spear, trying to wrest it away from her sister. Nebula head butted her and Gamora's grip slackened enough for Nebula to thrust the spear at her abdomen. Gamora yelled at the pain as Nebula pushed harder and harder. Gamora stumbled backwards making Nebula lose balance. Gamora kicked out at her sister as hard as she could which sent her tumbling backwards through the breach in the Dark Aster's hull.

Gamora hurried forwards, going as close to the edge as she dared, and saw that one of Nebula's hands had been caught on a protruding piece of metal. "Nebula!" she called, holding out her hand as Nebula swung precariously below. "Sister, help us fight Ronan. You know he's crazy."

Nebula looked up at her. "I know you're both crazy," she said then cut off her own hand. Nebula plummeted through the air, landing on the windshield of a Ravager ship which then flew out of Gamora's sight.

Heart beating quickly, she picked up an abandoned blaster and shot it at the power source to give the others access to the flight deck. Then she aimed at the ceiling above her and blasted twice before leaping up through the hole she had created, prepared for whatever she might find on the flight deck.

The first thing she saw was two slumped Sakaaran figures and, beyond them, the rest of her team came rushing through the doors. As one, they turned to look along the length of the room. Ronan stood before them imperiously, the Infinity Stone glowing where it had been fused into his large warhammer. And, at his feet, lay Hermione's crumpled form.

Gamora's breath stuck in her throat at the sight of her fallen sister.

Quill aimed the Hadron Enforcer at Ronan's body and fired. It was a direct hit; Ronan's body disappearing in a blinding flash of white light and a cloud of smoke engulfed them all.

"You did it!" Drax cried triumphantly as the others peered through the gloom.

The momentum of the blast had driven Hermione's limp body towards them and Gamora took a couple of quick steps to scoop her protectively into her arms, all the while looking for a glimpse of Ronan.

Through the smoke, a shadowy figure rose and Gamora's spirits plummeted. She turned back to Quill and he looked at her in shock, at a loss what to do now because they hadn't come up with a Plan C.

Gamora knelt down and hurriedly retrieved the vial from her pocket. She was almost certain that Hermione was dead but that small glimmer of hope was worth chasing. But, before she could open the all-important vial, Ronan sent a wave of energy at them from his warhammer, throwing them all painfully to the ground. Drax rushed at Ronan with an enraged yell, keeping him suitably distracted as Gamora crawled over to Hermione again.

"I was mistaken," they heard Ronan say coldly to Drax as he held him by his throat. "I do remember your family."

Quill propped Hermione against his knee, half hiding her behind a column, and opened her mouth as Gamora opened the antidote and poured the contents down her throat.

"Their screams were pitiful," Ronan continued tauntingly as he choked the air from Drax's lungs. "I…" He stopped abruptly and Gamora looked over, concerned that he was aware of their attempts to revive Hermione. Instead, she saw a Ravager ship crashed at full speed through the windows of the flight deck. It knocked Ronan and Drax down heavily as it burst down the room and the others took cover behind the column.

As the M-ship skidded to a halt, it was clear that the Dark Aster had suffered irreparable damages. The flight deck was in ruins; rubble and flames littered the floor and black smoke poured from the hole the Ravager ship had created. Seeing no sign of Ronan, Gamora ran over to Drax and heaved his unconscious form back to where Quill was still cradling Hermione. Groot had spotted Rocket as the pilot of the M-ship and had retrieved his dazed friend from the cockpit. The six of them gathered uncertainly together as the Dark Aster plummeted to the surface of Xandar.

Quill gently shook Hermione. "Come on, Granger, wake up," he murmured desperately. "I _know_ you're not dead, come on." He laced the fingers of his hand through hers. "We need you."

Gamora slumped to the floor next to Groot. Had they succeeded in stopping Ronan? She didn't know. But, with the speed they were falling, there was no way they would survive the impact.

She barely registered Groot sadly passing Rocket to her; however, she could do nothing but stare in wonder when branches started growing from him at an exponential rate. They began to twist and twine together, shielding the group as Groot created a beautiful cocoon. Amid all the fire and chaos around them, it was the most stunningly moving moment of Gamora's life and her damaged, weary soul was nourished and warmed by his actions.

Rocket stirred in her arms as the cocoon thickened and spread over their heads. The foliage was so thick that all the light from the flight deck had been blocked out so Groot released the same glowing spores he'd used to light their way earlier.

Rocket looked around the intricate, lush nest in tears. "No, Groot! You can't" he begged, moving forwards so his face was right in front of Groot's. "You'll die. Why are you doing this? _Why?_ "

A branch, almost finger-like in appearance, tenderly stroked Rocket's cheek before he slowly announced, " _We are Groot_."

* * *

A/N I hoped you enjoyed reading the chapter!

Lots of love,

Lil Drop of Magic


	9. Chapter 9

A/N: Hi guys! Thanks for your support as always.

* * *

Quill's body ached like he'd been through a hundred rounds with Rocky, followed by a dozen cycles in a dryer. He groaned and just focused on trying to breathe – his body even protesting against such a simple action as that. He rolled onto his side, hoping that would somehow lessen his discomfort, and cracked open his eyelids to try and assess the situation. The impact of the Dark Aster had turned most of the area to rubble and he could see large parts of the ship ablaze. Strangely, he knew the wreckage of the Milano lay not far away because he could hear his cassette playing – or maybe he was just hearing things?

Small branches and twigs also littered the floor around him and Quill felt a different stab of pain for his fallen friend, Groot.

"I called him an idiot," Rocket whispered, cradling a handful of sticks.

Quill forced himself into a sitting position and saw Gamora struggling to her knees. Drax was twitching and showing signs of life a few yards away so that only left…

He swivelled his head to look for Granger. Just behind him, a number of Xandarians were looking around the crash site in shock but he couldn't see any sign of her amongst them. He turned back to the wreckage of the ship just in time to see Ronan emerge; his warhammer still glowing ominously with the power of the Infinity Stone.

Quill's heart raced in panic. They knew that the Stone reacted to anything organic and the bigger the target, the bigger the power surge. If Ronan wanted to destroy all life on Xandar, all he had to do now was touch the stone to the surface and _everything_ would be wiped out.

"You killed Groot!" Rocket yelled furiously, rushing towards Ronan. In defence, Ronan simply pointed the hammer at Rocket and the raccoon was thrown aside.

Ronan looked around the gathered crowd malevolently. "Behold!" he called to them. "Your Guardians of the Galaxy." He gestured mockingly to the sprawled, battered figures on the ground.

 _Quill…_

It was a frail, breath of a voice but Quill jerked like he'd been electrocuted. That was Granger, he was sure of it, but he didn't understand how he'd heard her when he wasn't touching her. Was she dead? Was she haunting him?

Quill painfully pulled himself to his feet as Ronan preached to the crowd about finally getting vengeance. Quill wasn't paying too close attention to the actual words because from this greater height he'd finally spotted Granger's body a few feet behind Ronan and, most importantly, she was _moving_.

"People of Xandar," Ronan bellowed, "The time has come to rejoice and renounce your paltry Gods. Your salvation is as hand!"

Ronan raised the hammer above his head, the stone dazzlingly bright, and Quill knew he had to distract him to give Granger enough time to do something. She was looking at him now with groggy, confused eyes so he did the first thing that came into his head.

" _Ooh, child, things are gonna get easier_ ," he sang loud enough to halt Ronan in his tracks. " _Ooh, child, things'll get brighter_. Listen to these words." As he continued to sing, he saw Granger sit up with a faint look of panic on her face as she stared at Ronan and he wondered why she hadn't cast a spell at him. Then he realized that her killing spell must have been as ineffective as their use of the Hadron Enforcer; Ronan was just too powerful while he had possession of the Stone. He saw the solution in a flash; get the hammer away from Ronan, defeat Ronan. All he had to do was pass that message onto Granger without alerting the psycho that stood between them. " _Ooh, child, things'll get brighter,"_ he sang and raised his voice as the song moved into the climax. "Now bring the hammer down!" he said, but did so in a tone of voice that just supported the energetic dance moves he started to bust out. As he continued his performance, he daren't look in Granger's direction but he hoped she'd grasped his meaning.

"What are you doing?" Ronan muttered, thankfully still utterly confused by his actions.

"Dance off, bro," Quill replied simply, "Me and you." The lack of action on Granger's part seemed to suggest that she hadn't cottoned on to his plan but he daren't say anything else in case it tipped Ronan off. Quill paused his dancing and thrust his hand towards Gamora, inviting her to dance too. Ronan's gaze turned to her for a moment and Quill quickly looked at Granger and pointed at the hammer. He saw her eyes widen before he dropped his hand and looked back at Gamora who was shaking her head at proposal. "Subtle," Quill said, closing his fist, "take it back." He resumed his dancing, aware that Granger was psyching herself up to deliver a monster blow to the hammer.

" _What are you doing?_ " Ronan boomed, losing patience with Quill's antics.

"I'm distracting you, you big turd blossom!" Quill answered, twisting his Single Ladies hand in front of his face.

Ronan turned, but far too late, as Hermione sent a huge outburst of magic at the warhammer. The weapon shattered, releasing the Stone, and Quill leapt forwards with his fingers outstretched, desperate to get to it before Ronan. It barely entered his mind that touching the Stone would kill him. Ronan's body was propelled backwards by Granger's magic at the same moment that Quill's fingers wrapped around the Stone.

He fell to the floor, writhing on the ground, a gale of energy circling around him as the Stone's power coursed through his body. He screamed, rolling onto his knees as the energy began to consume him. He could hear a woman screaming and he turned his head. His mom was before his eyes exactly the same way she had been the last time he'd seen her, laying in her hospital bed. She held out her hand to him. "Take my hand, Peter," she said, her voice cutting right through him. He reached forwards and his mom transformed into Gamora but the hand was still outstretched.

"Take my hand!" Gamora yelled.

After a moment's hesitation, he did.

Gamora yelled as the energy rushed through to her too. There was another pulse of power, quickly followed by two more, and Quill realised that, although his body was absolutely brimming with the Stone's energy, it wasn't tearing him apart anymore. He opened his eyes and saw that his friends had made a chain. The power had spread between the five of them and they had it under control.

Ronan gazed at them in shock. "You're mortal," he spluttered, " _How?_ "

"You said it yourself, bitch," Quill answered, "We're the Guardians of the Galaxy." He opened the fist containing the Stone and directed its power at Ronan. After a sustained surge of energy, Ronan disappeared in a dazzling burst of light.

The Stone continued to radiate power until Gamora slammed one of the pre-prepared containers on it. The purple energy disappeared in an instant and the five of them gasped in huge breaths of air, looking at each other in disbelief.

Granger suddenly threw her arms around them all but her embrace was short lived.

"Well, well, well. Quite the light show," Yondu called, a large crowd of Ravagers surrounding the group. He chuckled as he regarded their familial stance. "Ain't this sweet. But you got some business to attend to before all the lovey-dovey stuff."

"Peter, you can't," Gamora objected while Granger watched the exchanged tensely.

"You gotta reconsider this, Yondu," Quill said. "I don't know who you're selling this to, but the only way the universe can survive is if you give it to the Nova Corps."

"I may be as pretty as an angel," Yondu replied, brushing open the side of his coat to reveal his deadly, telepathic Yaka arrow, "but I sure as hell ain't one. Hand it over, son."

"Mr Udonta," Granger began politely, taking a step forwards and Quill grabbed her hand as a number of Ravagers cocked their guns.

"Don't even start with me, girl," Yondu warned, holding up his hand to tell his men to back down. "This deal was already made, fair and square."

Quill squeezed her hand and she turned back to him. Her eyes narrowed on him suspiciously and he looked down.

 _If you've got a reason why I shouldn't use my magic to see them off, sigh now,_ he heard her say.

Quill sighed noisily and looked guiltily between Gamora and Yondu before handing over the Orb.

Yondu grinned as Hermione and Gamora wore equally disapproving expressions. He signalled for his men to move out.

"Yondu," Quill called, "Do not open that Orb. You know that, right? You've seen what it does to people."

Yondu said nothing at these words of caution but he gave Quill a lingering look before walking off to join his men. Nobody moved a muscle until the Ravagers' ships had taken off.

"He's going to be so pissed when he realises I switched out the Orb on him," Quill said, pulling out the other Orb from his back pocket. Gamora laughed in relief and Granger smiled at him but he couldn't help but feel a little guilty at crossing Yondu.

"He was going to kill you, Peter," Gamora pointed out.

"Oh, I know," he agreed. "But he was about the only family that I had."

 _Not anymore,_ Granger told him fondly _._

* * *

As the Milano shot through the galaxy towards Asgard, Hermione's nerves increased. She was obviously looking forwards to seeing Thor but she couldn't deny that she was apprehensive about what he would make of her. She had changed in many ways since they'd last seen each other though most of the changes were not physical in nature. Would he approve of the methods she'd used to keep herself alive? Would he blame her for Earth's destruction?

There was also the wealth of memories that were attached to Thor and the times they'd shared together. It was incredibly painful to think of those times but she knew she shouldn't shut them away as much as she did.

"So, when we meet Thor," Quill said, interrupting her thoughts, "What do we call him?"

"How about 'Thor', dumbass," Rocket shot at him from where he tinkered away at some sort of machine of his own design.

Quill rolled his eyes. "Yeah, but, he's a prince and, like, a god. I don't want to piss him off by saying the wrong thing."

"Don't worry," Hermione soothed, "If anyone's going to say the wrong thing, it's going to be Rocket."

Rocket narrowed his eyes at her and then shrugged his shoulders. "Fair comment."

"I've always called him, Thor," Hermione said to Quill. "But, if you want to make a good impression – "

" _And_ make sure we get our units," Rocket interrupted.

Hermione smiled. " _And_ ensure you get your units," she agreed, "then you can start with 'Your highness'. He's normally very friendly so you shouldn't have anything to worry about."

Quill nodded and then slumped into a seat next to her. "OK." He picked up a small container of water and poured a little in Groot's pot. The diminutive, regenerating Groot made a happy chittering noise and turned thankful eyes on Quill.

Hermione had been devastated when she'd learned of Groot's sacrifice on Xandar. She couldn't help but feel guilty because if she'd been conscious, she would've been able to keep them all alive without Groot having to pay the price. Sitting next to a distraught Rocket amongst the wreckage, Hermione had scooped up a handful of the many twigs strewn on the ground.

"Thank you, my kind, beautiful friend," she said softly, holding the wood against her chest.

Rocket sniffed loudly.

Hermione frowned and looked closely at the sticks. Something felt _odd_. She placed them in her lap before picking up each in turn and focusing on it with closed eyes.

"Wh-what are you doing?" Rocket mumbled.

"I felt him," she replied quietly. "So vividly. I felt _life_."

A mad few minutes followed where she and Rocket scrambled round to locate all the branches and twigs that they could. Hermione felt them all; the sensations of life were stronger in some than others. Finally, she found one that practically hummed with vitality. She conjured a pot, filled with soil and planted the offshoot inside. Rocket had taken the pot from her with trembling hands and had barely let it out of his sight ever since. The day Groot had regenerated enough to develop his arms and face was a time of great celebration for them all.

That was also the day when they had left Xandar. After a final meeting with the Nova Corps (during which Hermione had been briefly reunited with the friendly Rhomann Dey, who had personally thanked for her efforts to save Xandar), their criminal records had been expunged, Quill was informed he was only half-human, groundwork was laid to potentially work together in the future, the Infinity Stone was entrusted to Nova's protection and, finally, Quill was presented with a repaired and restored Milano.

It had always been their intention to fly to Asgard but, given that the realm was in one of the furthest reaches of the galaxy, they made a fair few stops along the way with only one or two hiccups (mostly caused when someone got intoxicated or Rocket opened his mouth).

However, nobody had asked the question of what would happen _after_ they got there.

Hermione had never expected to feel a sense of belonging to anything after Earth's demise but she felt a strong bond with her fellow Guardians. Her ultimate aim to take down Thanos was still there and, when she had first learned that Thor was searching for her, she'd envisaged relocating to Asgard or working on her own. But perhaps she could rally allies whilst travelling aboard the Milano? Maybe Thor would even join them to lend his support?

Hermione shook her head. It was pointless to try and plot out the future until she actually got to Asgard.

"We're coming up on Asgardian Space," Gamora called down to them from the flight deck.

Hermione felt a rush of adrenaline and rose to her feet, pulling Quill up with one hand and reaching out for Groot's pot with another. She ascended the stairs carefully and looked through the windows at the small slab of colour in the distance. Hermione had learned that Asgard was not round like Earth but was a flat, asteroid-like mass instead. Even from a great distance, it was a beautiful sight. She had just made out the twinkling light of what had to be the rainbow bridge when their ship was hailed by Asgard's defensive forces.

Quill stepped up to the screen and transmitted his message. "This is Peter Quill, of the M-ship Milano, requesting an audience with Thor Odinson regarding the abduction of Hermione Granger," he announced clearly.

There was a notable pause in response and Hermione tried to remain calm while they waited.

"You have permission to land," a business-like voice replied. "Two vessels will escort you to the dock."

Gamora piloted the ship according to the instructions and Hermione grinned at the others' appreciative comments as they took in Asgard's stunning landscape and architecture.

They were met by a trio of Einherjar guards and a blond-haired man that Hermione had briefly been acquainted with on her previous visit to Asgard. He was named Fandral and was one of Thor's closest friends.

Fandral's gaze travelled over the group but when he saw Hermione, his eyes widened in amazement.

"My lady Hermione!" he gasped. "I never… when they said that… after all this time!" he spluttered. "Odin's beard! I can't believe you're here! I thought it was going to be another dead end. Thor's going to be overjoyed to see you!" Fandral shook his head and chuckled. "And to think that you've appeared while he's on another realm! He'll be most annoyed."

Hermione couldn't help but smile at Fandral's enthusiasm. "Is he on Vanaheim?" she asked conversationally.

"No, Midgard," he replied, "Where else?"

Hermione's breath stuck in her throat at his words but her brain told her that she must've been mistaken in what she'd heard. "I'm sorry, where did you say Thor was?"

Her heart beat furiously in her chest as she waited for his response.

"Midgard," he repeated, "Or 'Earth' as you would call it."

"Holy shit," Quill muttered behind her.

Hermione couldn't breathe. She daren't even move in case this moment was just a fantasy and a single movement shattered the illusion and she'd be forced to deal with the heartbreak all over again. She felt someone place their hand supportively underneath her elbow, which was good because she felt like her knees were about to give way at any moment.

Fandral's mouth formed a little 'o' in realisation. "But, of course, how stupid of me, you wouldn't know. Your planet is fine, my lady; Earth was _never_ destroyed."

* * *

A/N Hooray! I know I had some of you a tiny bit worried but, come on, I wasn't going to blow up Earth!

That's the end of Hermione Granger: Guardian of the Galaxy. Look out for the next fic soon(ish). It will be published as a Harry Potter/Avengers crossover like the others in this series.

So, if you've enjoyed this fic (or are looking forward to the next one) please drop me a review.

Lots of love to you all,

Lil Drop of Magic

xXx


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